Triplets
by goldie031
Summary: Katniss and Peeta have faced two straight Hunger Games, a war, and two pregnancies. But now, they must face something even more difficult: Triplets.
1. Prologue: Home

**OK, guys. Before I start the story, I want to go over a few quick things. First of all, and possibly most importantly, how time functions. Like with my other stories, each year is based on the year of the corresponding Hunger Games. So beginning the January 1st preceding Katniss's Games, and ending ending the December 31st following it, it is considered the year HG74. For simplicity's sake, they kept that counting system after the rebellion. Months and weeks and such function the same way they do now, and leap years still occur as they do now as well. Secondly, for this story, I will have a new format for flashbacks. they will be represented by some combination of * and ~.** **Also, this story will have a quote to go with every chapter to correspond with its title, though the quotes do not follow a consistent theme.**

* * *

 _Settle down, it'll all be clear.  
_ _Don't pay no mind to the demons, they fill you with fear  
_ _The trouble - it might drag you down.  
_ _If you get lost, you can always be found.  
_ _Just know you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna make this place your home._

 _-"Home" by Phillip Phillips_

* * *

Prim got lucky.

She got lucky that her squad commander was a mother.

Because her commander recognized that Prim was too young to go into combat. So she assigned Prim the job of field medic. If they went into combat, Prim was to find an injured victim and get them out of the area. Other victims would then be brought to her for treatment.

Prim obliged. When they attempted to help the children in the human shield, Prim found a little boy and ran him towards the barrier. As she leaped over the barrier, the bombs went off, and she and the child went flying. Prim twisted her body in order to shield the child, and as a result, her head felt the impact of the ground head-on, creating a substantial gash in her skull on top of a severe concussion.

But she survived.

Prim spent months in the Capitol hospitals, nursing back to health. And her mother was there by her bed every day as she recovered. One day, she heard that Katniss thought that she had died. She (naively) thought that surprising her sister in person, alive and well, would be a good idea.

It wasn't.

The first time Katniss saw her after she returned to District 12, she turned white and fainted. When Katniss came to, and found her head in Prim's lap, she slapped her little sister across the face. "Ow!" cried Prim. Katniss slowly sat up, then engulfed her little sister in a hug. Through the elder's tears, the younger could make out one phrase, repeated over and over: "I was sure I lost you."

The two sisters and Peeta settled into their house in Victor's Village. Peeta, Prim, and Katniss formed an unusual family structure. Even though the Star-Crossed Lovers were just four years older than Prim, she became like their daughter. Slowly the district began to fill and rebuild, just as Katniss and Peeta rebuilt themselves and their relationships.

One day, a group straggled out of the wood surrounding the district. According to their leader, they had attempted to escape with Gale, but they got lost, and they had lived in the woods ever since. The group had no idea about the status of their loved ones, District 12, or the rebellion.

All of the residents of District 12 were surprised to find their friends and loved ones alive and well. But nobody was more surprised than Peeta, who reconnected with his brother, Gram, who explained to his younger brother what happened in their house after Peeta left.

"As you know, before your first Games," Gram began, "Mom favored Riley and divided her abuse between the two of us. When you were reaped, it all fell on my shoulders. So I dealt with it for about another year. When Gale left the district, about 50 people followed. Some because they knew exactly what was going to happen. Some to hope for a better life for their children. And some because they needed to get away from something. I think he offered Mom, Dad, and Riley to leave with us, but they never would have listened, because Gale is a Seam kid. But I saw an opportunity, so I packed up and left.

"A few days after we left, we decided to split up to find food. Big mistake. My group got completely lost. Thankfully, some people who were in our group know how to hunt and identify edible plants. So we survived in the woods. I think it's just by chance that we found District 12 again. How long has it been? And what's happened?"

Katniss and Peeta carefully told Gram about the events of the rebellion, not without significant relapses on both of their parts. When they were finished, Gram asked to move in with Katniss and Peeta. After some discussion, the two accepted.

So Katniss, Peeta, Gram, and Prim became their own little family. And just as Gram helped Peeta to heal, so too did Prim help Katniss to heal. And slowly, slowly, life returned to normal in District 12.


	2. Backstory: How To Raise a Child

_Oh, where are the instructions on how to raise a child?  
Who has the in_ _structions on how to raise a child?  
Who has all the answers?  
I don't know!_

 _-"How to Raise a Child" from Seussical the Musical_

* * *

Peeta's first step on the journey towards kids was therapy.

He had always wanted kids. At least two of them. But he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Katniss yet.

So they began therapy. They went twice a week, every week, for years. Learning how to be better to each other, and how to cope with the memories of the Games.

After every therapy session, Peeta would ask the same question: "Are you ready?"

And after every therapy session, Katniss would answer, "Not yet."

But one day, five years after the end of the Mockingjay Rebellion, she said the one word that Peeta had been waiting – no, had been hoping for.

"Yes."

Katniss elected to elaborate on the other factor on her decision, though she had talked the matter over with Prim before giving her husband a definite answer.

"So, what did President Paylor call about?" asked Prim

"She wondered when Peeta and I were going to start having kids."

"You're only 23. Why is this a concern right now?"

"Some mumbo-jumbo about the population decline. It dropped during the Rebellion and the birth rate has far from picked up. So Paylor wants me to have kids so that people will be inspired to have kids as well."

"Are you going to tell Peeta about that?"

"I'm not sure. He understands all my nerves about having kids, but I don't know if he'll feel shortchanged by Paylor's request."

"Look, this sounds super cheesy, but a good marriage is based on honesty. So if you don't tell him now, and he finds out later, he'll be more upset. I would tell him now, and maybe your opinion on having kids will change after the first one."

Katniss nodded. After that day's therapy, she and Peeta sat down to talk things over. Though it wasn't the optimal reason to have kids, Peeta was thrilled that she was finally willing to try.

That very night, she and Peeta went into their room. They stripped down and got into bed, preparing for intercourse.

Suddenly, Katniss leapt out of bed. She just couldn't do it.

She'd steeled herself up for having kids. But Finnick's stories of prostitution had turned her off to the idea of having sex.

Peeta was more than willing to wait. So they kept trying. But once a week or so, the same course of events would occur – they would strip down and get ready for sex, but Kat would chicken out. This went on for about three years, at which point Katniss (and Paylor, for that matter) became completely fed up. It was time to try something else.

Luckily for Katniss and Peeta, District 12 had become a medical powerhouse. A new OB/GYN had recently moved in who happened to be an expert in a technology that had recently come to District 12, IVF. They were more than excited to try it.

Their first attempt worked, and Katniss became pregnant with twin girls. Katniss and Peeta picked out names for them. The elder would be named Dalia Rue, and the younger, Daisy Penigma. Each had a first name after a flower, and a middle name after someone who had died in the Games. And they, of course, had to take both of their parents' last names.

As is to be expected, Katniss was immensely stressed and nervous over the course of the pregnancy. She was only consoled by the fact that soon enough she'd be able to hold two gorgeous baby girls in her arms.

But then, tragedy struck.

Katniss went into labor at 32 weeks, and gave birth to her daughters on March 15, 85. Dalia survived the birth. But Daisy did not. Katniss never even saw her second child before the fetus was whisked away.

So the Star-Crossed Lovers set about raising their daughter. Katniss had the baby almost attached to her at the hip. She was comforted by Dalia's warmth and constant breathing. She was entranced by Dalia's bright blue eyes. And she was amused as her daughter's wisps of hair grew into gorgeous jet-black strands.

Unfortunately, as kids do, Dalia grew up. By the time Dalia was a year and a half, she had very much outgrown Katniss's arms. Katniss longed for another baby to hold in her arms.

When they attempted to return to the same OB/GYN, they found that she had moved back to the Capitol. An adequate substitute was found – Katniss's mother! Mrs. Everdeen, a newly licensed gynecologist, was not only an expert at IVF, but also at another new technology for the citizens of District Twelve, artificial insemination. After some debate, the two decided to try it. After a few months of monitoring ovulation, Katniss went to her mom's clinic.

The first round was successful. Nobody was more excited about the pregnancy than Dalia, though. Her parents surprised her on her second birthday with the news that she was going to be a big sister, and it quickly turned into the only thing Dalia talked about.

Kenneth Finnick Everdeen-Mellark was born on December 5, 87. Katniss chose the name Kenneth for its meaning –"born of fire" That night, Peeta brought Dalia to the hospital to visit her brother. The first picture of Dalia and Kenneth was of Dalia holding her brother in her arms.

From that point, Dalia began to act like a second mother. Rather than bully or poke her brother, she would try to help her mother change his diaper and comfort him when he cried. There was something about the way that Dalia treated Ken that reminded Katniss of her relationship with Prim. Ken did look a little bit like Prim, at least. He had the same blond hair, though it was curly, and his eyes were shaped like Prim's, but they were grey instead of blue.

As time passed, Ken grew too. Well, maybe he didn't quite grow. He was really quite short for his age. But Katniss figured he'd grow eventually.

But something didn't feel whole yet. Katniss always said that it was because she still missed holding a baby after Ken grew too old. Peeta argued that it was because he grew up in a family of three, and he wanted his kids to as well. But both agreed that it was time to try for a third kid.

They decided to go back to IVF, because Katniss didn't like the way that artificial insemination restricted her schedule.

It was simultaneously the best and worst decision of their lives.


	3. Chapter 1: Meadow Child

_He's still a meadow child, one of the sun_

 _-"Meadow Child" by Charlene Soraia_

* * *

 _Date: September 3, HG90_

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

The dog mutts were everywhere.

Katniss saw Rue's eyes in the smallest, a brown one with an 11 woven in straw on her collar. She saw Glimmer's mutt, a dog with silky waves of blond hair and a collar with the number 1 inlaid in jewels. Everywhere she turned, there was another mutt. They surrounded her. As they were about to devour her whole, they suddenly merged into a giant, snow-white mutt with the eyes of a snake. Katniss backed up, but the mutt just grew bigger. It licked its lips, opened its mouth wide, and gave Katniss a giant kiss on the cheek. "Mommy, wake up!" it yelled.

Katniss pried her eyes open to find Dalia standing over her. "Mommy! You promised we'd go to play in the Meadow today! Wake up wake up wake up!"

 _Shoot,_ thought Katniss. _I forgot that I promised Dalia that._

"Is Daddy awake?"

"Yep!"

"Is Ken awake?"

"Yep!"

"OK. Let me get up and get dressed, and then I'll take you."

"Yay!" Dalia skipped out of the room.

Katniss picked up the phone and dialed her sister's house. Rory Hawthorne, Prim's husband, answered the phone.

"Hi Rory! How are you?"

"I'm good, Katniss. How are you?"

"Not bad. Is Prim home?"

"Nope. She went to your mom for an appointment and stayed to help out. Why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to her. No worries, though. Thanks, Rory!"

"All right. Have a nice day."

Katniss hung up. Immediately her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Katniss! How's it going?"

"Pretty good, Ember. Are you guys doing anything today?"

"I was actually going to ask you a favor. Max and Hannah want to go play in the Meadow, and they really want to go with their cousins. I'm meeting up with my sister for a brunch, and we were wondering if you could take them."

Katniss checked her watch. "OK, so what time is your brunch gonna be over?'

"We need to be there in half an hour. I'm not sure when it will end."

"So I have a gynecologist appointment at 1:00, and Peeta is working on a huge order with Gram at the bakery, as I'm sure you know. So here's what I'm thinking: it's now 10:00. If you can pick up all of the kids at about 12:30 and handle them for lunch, I can still make it to my appointment."

"Sounds good. I'll drop the kids off in a bit. Thanks so much!"

"See you soon. Bye."

Katniss put down the phone and quickly got dressed. She came downstairs just as her husband was leaving for work. They shared a kiss, and Peeta left.

"Dalia! Ken! Where are you?"

"Playroom!"

Katniss navigated through the kitchen and dining room to the playroom. "Kids, put down the toys for a second. Look at me. Good. OK guys, here's the plan. Auntie Ember is coming to bring over Max and Hannah, and then we'll go to the Meadow. We need to be back here by 12:30, and then you guys will go with your cousins for lunch. Cool?" Dalia and Ken nodded. "So you have about ten minutes. Can you clean up in here a bit first?"

"I'll help Ken clean up," replied Dalia.

"Good. Did you two eat breakfast?"

"Daddy made us cheese buns!"

Peeta's famous cheese buns were the breakfast of choice in the Everdeen-Mellark household, so much so that there were generally upwards of 7 dozen cheese buns in the freezer at any given time. Katniss pulled two out and heated them up in the oven for a few minutes. She had barely finished one when the doorbell rang.

"Aunt Kat!" exclaimed Hannah, who flung herself into Kantiss's arms.

"Hi guys! Dalia and Ken are in the playroom. Want to go play?"

"Yea," said Max. "Come on, baby sis." The two scampered off.

"Thanks so much for taking them, Katniss. I really appreciate it."

"Of course. Just make sure you get here at 12, right?"

"Got it. See you later." The two women exchanged a quick hug, and Ember headed off.

Katniss decided that it would be a good idea to supervise the children in the playroom. She brought another cheese bun with her for energy. She really enjoyed watching her kids play with their cousins. Max was just a few weeks younger than Dalia, and Hannah was about 6 months younger than Ken, but the four really enjoyed playing together as a group. Generally, though, half an hour was the limit before someone started crying. At about 10:45, this certainly proved to be the case.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"I had it first"

"Ken! Give it back!"

Katniss rushed into the playroom to find her son and niece pulling on opposite ends of the same stuffed animal. It was very close to ripping.

"OK!" Katniss intervened. "Why don't we clean up and go to the Meadow?"

"THE MEADOW!" exclaimed all four kids. They hurriedly put all of the toys into bins – likely not the right ones – and ran outside. Katniss followed the kids as they ran down the familiar path to the Meadow. She knew that, someday, they would learn about what the Meadow really was. But Dalia and Max would only be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks, while they only started learning about the Games in First Grade. For now, she was happy with their blissful ignorance.

An hour later, the kids had tired themselves out. Hannah, who was just barely walking, lay down on Katniss's lap, her little legs too tired to bear her weight. "Ready to go home?" Katniss asked her niece. Hannah nodded, and yawned a tiny little yawn.

"All right guys, come back!" Katniss yelled. "We have to go home!" The other three kids ran back towards her. "Did you guys have fun?" she asked. All three nodded. "Good." And they began the trek home.

* * *

At 12:30 on the nose, Ember was at Katniss's door, ready to take the kids. Katniss shoveled the four out the door, yelled "Have fun!" after them, and immediately left for her appointment. When she arrived, she checked in at the front office and immediately went back into her mother's office. One of her mother's assistants came in. "Good afternoon, Katniss. How are the kids?"

"Dalia is good. She's very excited for Kindergarten. Kenneth is a two-year-old, as can be expected. He is very cute. How are you"

"I am good. Let's get started." The assistant spread the ultrasound gel on Katniss's stomach and began to perform the ultrasound. She searched around for a minute to try to find the uterus. The two looked closer at it. Katniss could see exactly what the technician was looking at, though she didn't think she could necessarily handle it.

"Both eggs took, right?"

"Yeah. So you at least have twins. Let's make sure neither egg split." The technician zoomed in on one of the egg sacs and moved the wand around a little bit. "This one looks like it's just one baby." She then moved the wand the other way and zoomed in on the second sac. She paused, moved it around a bit, and then zoomed in again. "But this one appears to be two. Congratulations, Katniss! You are having triplets!"


	4. Chapter 2: Triplets

" _There are three things in life for which we are never prepared: triplets."_

 _-Unknown_

* * *

"What?!"

"Triplets. You can see for yourself." Katniss looked at the ultrasound. Sure enough, she had seen both sacs, and in the one that was on screen she saw two tiny, tiny babies. They looked like the little jelly babies sold in the sweetshop right next to Peeta's bakery. The technician made a few measurements, and then turned to Katniss again.

"Well. It looks like we have mono-di twins, plus a third."

"What does mono-di mean?"

The technician took a deep breath, and launched into a familiar explanation. "When you have twins, they can come in two forms, identical and fraternal. I believe Daisy and Dalia were fraternal twins, correct?"

"Yes."

"So if you have identical twins, that means the egg split. Then you can have either monoamniotic or diamniotic twins from there, meaning that they either share a placenta or they don't. In this case, it appears that they don't. So in terms of riskiness, it's kind of in the middle. Granted, the risk factor increases here because you also have the third child in there."

"Is it possible that the other egg split as well?"

"I don't think so, but mothers have been surprised in the past by an extra baby not caught by an ultrasound. Now, let's talk due date. It appears that full term for you would be… about March 20th. But you won't make it there."

"What do you mean?"

"So it looks like you're about twelve weeks along, which puts your due date… we'll say March 18, because it isn't a leap year next year. The problem is, full term for triplets is 36 to 37 weeks, while March 18 is 40 weeks. We won't let you get past 37 weeks, so we'd like you to schedule a C-section at about that point. But we can worry about that later. The other thing is that you should know is that we'll probably put you on bedrest somewhere around Christmas just to be safe. We don't want the water to break too early."

"But what about the kids? I can't care for them if I'm on bedrest!"

"Dalia will be in school, right? And I'm sure Peeta can pitch in."

"True," mused Katniss. _He's going to be so surprised when I found out._ "Is the pregnancy stable?"

"I think so. I hope so. But anything can happen. I think that you're OK to tell people, though."

"Good."

* * *

After a quick stop at a clothing store, she returned home to find Ember playing with the kids in the playroom. "How did it go?" Ember asked, looking up.

"Pretty well. I'll tell you about it at dinner. Do you want to help me cook?"

"Do you really think it'll take five hours to make dinner?"

"It could."

Most Sunday nights, Katniss and Peeta had dinner with their whole family. Tonight, it was Katniss and Peeta's turn to make dinner for the family. Normally, Peeta and Katniss would cook together when it was their turn. Likely, however, Peeta wouldn't be home until right before dinner tonight, so it was up to Katniss and Ember to get it ready.

"Ember, I'm going to put you on the kids' food. This is the recipe for the chicken tenders, and there are some potatoes in the bottom left drawer of the refrigerator that you can cut up and toss with salt, pepper, and paprika and bake."

The two worked like a well-oiled machine. At about 6, there was a knock on the door. When Katniss opened it up, she found Prim, Rory, and Mrs. Everdeen.

"Hi, honey," said Mrs. Everdeen, giving her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek. The two had certainly struggled to patch up their relationship, but Prim helped them to heal and to understand each other for the first time since Katniss's father died. Prim's assistance may very well have been the only reason that Mrs. Everdeen returned to District 12. "Sorry I couldn't be at your appointment myself today. I had a birth. How did it go?"

"Well. I'll tell you about it at dinner. I actually need a little bit of extra help. Can you pitch in?" Prim and Mrs. Everdeen nodded. With their help, dinner was ready by 7, the exact moment that Peeta and Gram walked in the door.

"Perfect timing, Katniss!" exclaimed Ember.

"I told you we had to start preparing it when we did. KIDS! DINNER!"

The four Mellark kids ran into the dining room, where they took their seats at the kids' table. It was a little square table that was just better for their height than the grownups' table. They reentered a conversation that had clearly started in the playroom, as none of the grownups could follow it.

"So, Katniss," began Peeta, "I think we're all anxious to know what happened at your appointment today." He took a sip of water.

"Well, let's just say we're going to have to expand the kids' table by three places."

Peeta spit out his water. "TRIPLETS?!" exclaimed the collective majority.

"Yep. I could hardly believe it either. But it appears to be so. Two identical to each other, and then a third."

"Do the kids know yet?"

"No, but I think I'm going to tell Dalia right after dinner. I bought Dalia and Ken these shirts that say Thing 1 and Thing 2, and then three little onesies that say Thing 3, Thing 4, and Thing 5."

"That's so cute," gushed Ember. "Congratulations."

"Do you have a due date?" asked Gram.

"Well, the due date is nonrepresentative of when they are going to be born. I'm 40 weeks on March 18, but we're going to be scheduling a C-section around 37 weeks, unless they come sooner."

"Have you decided on a date?"

"Not yet. I have a little time. Prim, how'd your appointment go?"

"Well, I'm 20 weeks today, so we're halfway there. We're close to viability, which is really good for baby."

"Did you find out the sex?" said Ember

"We have an envelope with the sex at home, but we haven't decided whether or not we want to open it yet," replied Rory.

"The baby is healthy," added Mrs. Everdeen, "but it looks a bit small, which is nobody's fault."

"I'm so happy that Hannah and Max will have four new cousins next year!" Ember exclaimed. "It's so exciting that there are so many new babies in the family."

"Speaking of Hannah and Max, where did they go?" The adults turned their attention to the kids' table, only to find it empty.

"I think they're in the playroom."

"We should head home," said Ember. "I will see you at the Meeting Place tomorrow to send Dalia and Max off to school."

The grownups migrated to the playroom, where the cousins said goodbye to each other, and everyone else headed home.

"I'm going to go give Dalia her surprise," Katniss said to Peeta. "Bring the camera."

Katniss quickly ran up to her room and grabbed three bags. Then, she and Peeta, video camera in hand, went into the playroom. "Dalia! Come here for a sec." Dalia and the other three kids gathered around Katniss, who shepherded them to the couch. "So, Dalia, I have a present for you for your first day of school tomorrow. You get to open all of the bags, but you have to open them in order. OK?"

Dalia opened up the first bag and carefully read the whimsical writing in the big white circle on the red shirt. "Thing 1," she declared. Then, she opened up the second bag and pulled out a slightly smaller red shirt. "Thing 2," she read. "Is this one for Kenneth?"

"Yes," said Katniss. "Good job, honey!"

"So who's the third bag for?"

"Why don't you open it up and see."

Dalia opened the bag to find three smaller packages wrapped in tissue paper. She opened up the first one and found a red onesie in it. "Thing 3," she read. Her eyes went blank for a second, and then lit up. "Are you having a baby?!" she exclaimed. Katniss nodded as a big smile crept across both of their faces. Dalia leapt into her mother's arms. "I'm so happy! Ken is going to be a big brother! Ken, did you hear that? You're going to be a big brother!"

"Open the other two packages," Katniss suggested.

Dalia ran back to the couch and opened up the second package. "Thing 4." Dalia looked a bit confused. "Another onesie for your baby." She opened up the third package. "Thing 5. Why did you buy three different numbered onesies for the one baby? It's only your third kid. There's me, then Ken, then baby."

Dalia had not, to this point, been told about Daisy. Katniss had decided to wait until she was a bit older to tell her.

Meanwhile, Max seemed to understand what was happening. "Dalia, think about it," he coached. "There are three different onesies, each with a different number. And each one is for a different baby. What do you think that means?"

Dalia thought for a second. Both Katniss and Peeta could see the wheels turning inside her head. Suddenly, the penny dropped. "Are you having THREE BABIES?"

"Yes, Dalia. I am."

"Whoa." Dalia wasn't so sure how to react to the news. "How are they all gonna fit in your belly?"

"Well, remember how big my belly was with Ken?"

"Yep."

"This time, it's going to be much, much bigger, so much so that I'm gonna have to stay in bed for a while to keep the babies safe."

"Are they a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet."

"When are they gonna get here?"

"We don't know that either. But it will probably be sometime between the end of January or the end of February."

"Oh, that's so exciting."

"I know! But now, you have to get ready for bed so you can wake up for your first day of school tomorrow!"

Dalia scampered up to her room and quickly got ready for bed. Katniss and Peeta came upstairs and tucked Dalia into bed. "Are you excited for tomorrow?" asked Katniss.

"Yeah!"

"Are you scared?"

"No, because Max and I are in the same class, and he can help me if I get scared."

"Good night, honey. We love you."


	5. Chapter 3: Start of Something New

_It's the start of something new._

 _-"Start of Something New" from High School Musical_

* * *

"Dalia, honey, wake up! It's time for your first day of school!"

Dalia felt her mother shaking her awake. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Yay!" she said, and swung her legs so that she was sitting next to her mother.

"Let's get you dressed," Katniss said. She helped her daughter into a red-and-white checkered dress, white socks, and black patent-leather shoes. She then braided Dalia's hair into 2 braids, tied each with a hair ribbon, and clipped a red barrette on the left side of her head. "Dalia, this is the same dress that Aunt Prim and I wore on our first days of school."

"Is this the exact dress that you wore?"

"No, not the exact same dress, but a very similar dress. We had to give the original dress away, because Aunt Prim and I grew out of it. Maybe one of your new siblings will also wear this dress."

"Maybe..."

Katniss and Dalia went downstairs to find Peeta chasing Kenneth around the couch.

"He took my whisk," Peeta explained.

'Yummy!" Dalia exclaimed, and hopped onto a stool next to the island in her kitchen. Peeta served her two cheese buns.

Meanwhile, Katniss was packing Dalia's pink backpack. "Folder, notebook, pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils... what else do you need, Dalia?"

"I don't think I need anything else. Lunchbox?"

"Daddy's finishing it up. I think you've got everything."

Katniss zipped up the bag. It was monogrammed with her initials - D.R.E-M.

"Dalia," Peeta said. "Do you remember what mommy and I told you about the letter A?"

"Yeah. You said that if you add it in between my two last names it makes the word 'Dream'."

"I just wanted to remind you that whatever you dream, you can do. You are going to be great, Dalia darling." Peeta kissed his daughter on her forehead. She brushed her teeth and went to wait on the porch with her parents.

* * *

Posy Hawthorne headed to the Meeting Place, which was conveniently located right across from Katniss's house. Katniss spotted Posy and headed over to talk to her.

"I didn't know you were teaching here!" Katniss exclaimed, embracing Posy.

"I just came back from 9 after I finished getting my degree, and they needed help with the Kindergarten, so they hired me."

"Well, keep an eye on Dalia, would you?"

"Of course."

"Are you excited for the wedding? I can't believe you're already 20, and I can't believe you're getting married, my little Posy." Weddings in District 12 tended to occur between 18 and 24 before the rebellion, and this tradition continued after it in some families

"Of course! Caleb has been so supportive of everything and I'm just so excited."

"Will you be changing your name?"

"Officially, not until my wedding. But I'll have the kids call me by my married name lest they get confused once I get married."

"Is there any help that you need for the wedding?"

"Actually, I do need a favor. Caleb wanted to know if we could get a red velvet cupcake and a cookies and cream cupcake from Peeta to try. He might have changed his mind on the cake flavor."

"I will relay the message to Peeta," Katniss asserted.

A few little kids came up to Posy, which served as Katniss's cue to return to her porch. As she was walking back to her porch, she nearly ran over a little redhead that reminded her of Foxface. Katniss pointed her out to Peeta. "I wonder what her name is..." she said, pointing the little redhead out to her husband.

"Me too."

Dalia tapped her mother's shoulder. "Ready, Mommy."

"Come here, honey," Katniss said, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Have a great day. I love you."

"Love you too, Mommy."

Peeta hugged his little girl. "You'll do great. Make some new friends and have fun."

Dalia waved goodbye and skipped over to Posy.

"Boy, I can't believe how grown up she is," Katniss said.

"I know," Peeta replied. "She's not really our little girl anymore."

"Let's hope our new babies don't grow up as fast."

* * *

Dalia walked over to the large group forming at the Meeting Place. Teachers were all over the area, with signs designating where kids from different grades were to check in. 3rd Graders and up were directed straight to the building, 2nd graders to one area, 1st Graders to a second, and Kindergarteners to a third. Dalia went to the Kindergarten sign.

"What's your name, honey?" A woman asked.

"Dalia Everdeen-Mellark," Dalia responded.

The woman checked off a name, leaving Dalia to mingle with the other kids.

Dalia found herself next to a little redheaded girl with a long face and bangs in a bright teal dress. "What's your name?" Dalia asked.

"Finch."

"I'm Dalia."

"Nice to meet you!"

"You too."

"Let's be friends."

"OK."

"Kindergarteners!" Posy yelled. "Eyes on me, one, two, three!" All the Kindergarten kids turned their heads to Posy. "My name is Mrs. Laverrie, and I am going to be one of your teachers this year. When we get to school, you'll meet the other teachers, Mrs. Rosal and Mrs. Anderson. When you get to school, you'll look for your name on the bulletin boards. If your name is in a fish, you'll be in Mrs. Anderson's class. If your name is on a flower, you will be in Mrs. Rosal's class. If your name is on a bird, you'll be in my class. Are you all ready to walk to school?"

"Yeah!" chorused the kids. The group started to walk. Dalia walked next to her cousin Max, who was also excited to begin Kindergarten. When they arrived at school, they were thrilled to discover that both of them had their names on fish. The two, along with 23 other kids, were led into a classroom with a circular rug on the floor.

"Welcome to Kindergarten!" a large woman said. "My name is Mrs. Anderson, and I will be your teacher. Let's sit in a circle on the rug." Dalia sat next to Finch, and Max sat next to his cousin. Mrs. Anderson pulled a chair into the circle, and all of the kids immediately focused their attention onto their teacher. "We're going to go around and say our names and favorite colors. OK?" All of the kids nodded. "Why don't you start," Mrs. Anderson said, pointing to Dalia.

"I'm Dalia, and my favorite color is PINK!"

"I'm Finch, and I like orange."

"I'm Bella, and I don't think I have a favorite color, but I have a yellow room, so I guess yellow."

"I'm Annie, and sea-green's my favorite!"

"I'm Timothy, and I think forest green is really pretty."

The names just kept coming and coming. Dalia couldn't keep track of them all, but she hoped she'd learn all of her classmates' names eventually.

"Wonderful job, class! Today, we're going to start by learning the alphabet. Does anybody know their alphabet?"

And with that, learning in Kindergarten had officially begun.

* * *

"Snack time!" All of the kindergarteners ran to the snack area, where there were 10 little tables. "Four of you will sit at a table." Dalia found herself sitting with Finch, Max, and Bella, a shy but sweet little girl with two thick brown braids.

Mrs. Anderson came around with graham crackers and apple juice for each kid. "Thank you," chorused the kids at Dalia's table.

"You're very welcome," replied Mrs. Anderson.

Dalia began the conversation at her table. "Do you guys have any sisters or brothers?" she asked.

"I have a lot of siblings," Bella replied. "I have a little brother named Jules and a baby sister named Grace, and my mom is pregnant again."

"I have a little sister named Vixen and a little brother named Canis," Finch said.

"I have a baby sister named Hannah, and Dalia has a little brother named Kenneth."

"How do you know that?" asked Finch.

"Dalia and I are cousins," replied Max. "So I know her brother as much as I know my sister."

"Yeah," Dalia added. "And I'm going to have three more baby siblings soon."

"Wow," said Bella. "I'm going to have three siblings soon, but they'll all be different ages. I can't imagine having three siblings the same age!"

"When Canis was born, I couldn't get any sleep, because he cried all night," said Finch. "I can't imagine how little sleep you're gonna get."

"I hope you don't fall asleep in class, Dalia," Max added.

"Me too."

The first day of Kindergarten went quickly for the kindergarteners, as the first day of something usually does. Before anyone knew it, it was time to line up to go home. As the kids lined up to go home, Dalia and Max walked next to each other again.

"Did you have a good first day, Max?"

"I did. I think I like Kindergarten."

"Yeah, me too."


	6. Chapter 4: Helping

_And some kind of help is the kind of help that helping's all about.  
And some kind of help is the kind of help we all can do without._

 _-"Helping" by Shel Silverstein_

* * *

"Can I help Daddy bake today?"

Peeta was a little bit stressed. Posy's wedding was just one short week away, and he hadn't practiced making her cake once. Though this wouldn't normally be a big deal, Posy and Caleb were immensely particular, and Peeta knew that if he didn't get it exactly right, he would have a problem. So he decided to practice at home first, from baking the cake to the finishing touches.

"Dalia, I'm not so sure if today is the right day for you to bake with me. Daddy's a little bit stressed."

"Come on! I'm always a big help!"

"Less of a help and more of a hindrance," muttered Peeta.

Katniss joined her husband in the kitchen. "Just let her help you," she whispered.

"Fine," replied Peeta. "Just stall her for 5 minutes."

"Dalia!" called Katniss. "How about we give Daddy some time to set up to bake, and we'll practice what you learned in Kindergarten this week."

"OK!" Dalia ran into the dining room and joined her mother at the table.

"We're going to practice reading the calendar. So do you know what today is?"

"Today is Sunday, September 17."

"Good! And what's the year?"

"HG90."

"If today is Sunday, what is tomorrow?"

"Monday. And yesterday is Saturday!"

"So what is next month?"

"October."

"And the next month?"

"November. Then December."

"Very good job. You're learning well!"

"It's easy. We did a little bit of the alphabet, but I already knew the alphabet because of the shows on Capitol Kids. And that's also how I know the days of the week and all the months."

"I'm glad you're learning stuff from those shows."

"I'm ready!" Peeta yelled.

"Time to bake!" exclaimed Dalia. She ran into the kitchen and put on her apron. Naturally, it was pink.

"Now, I have a lot to do with this cake. So please try not to make a mess."

"Got it!"

"When we make a cake, what do we do first?"

"We get the dry ingredients together!"

"Right. So first, let's do the flour." Dalia immediately spotted the giant bag of flour on the counter. She pulled on the corner of the bag to try to get it off the counter. "No, Dalia. Don't grab it…." Peeta watched as, almost in slow motion, the bag of flour came off of the counter, flipped over, and found itself on Dalia's head.

"Oh, no," said Katniss, trying to stifle a laugh. Flour was everywhere – on the floor, on the sides of the counter, and all over Dalia. "Dalia, this is why you either use a stepstool or let Daddy give you the bag."

"Oops. Sorry, Daddy."

"It's all right, darling," said Peeta. "Go with Mommy to help clean you up and then we can finish making the cake." Dalia followed Katniss upstairs, leaving a trail of flour behind her. "Now," Peeta murmured, "do I have another bag of flour?"

* * *

 _Two days later…_

Dalia was off at school, and Katniss had finally gotten Kenneth down for a nap. She was looking forward to one herself, as a matter of fact. Unfortunately for her, the phone rang. When she saw who it was, Katniss figured it would be important to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"How are you, Katniss?"

"I am good. How are you, President Paylor?"

"Fine. I need your help with something. I think you will be interested in helping, because it may eventually serve to completely eradicate the effects of the Games."

"I'm all ears. What do you need me for?"

"Well, we have been working on a project that will allow us to bring deceased tributes back to life. About a month ago, we succeeded."

"Really? How is that possible?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I'm not a scientist, I'm just a president. But we did it."

"So if your scientist is doing all of the work, what do you need me for?"

"I was getting to that. We are keeping all of the revived tributes in the Training Center until they are stable enough to return to their districts. Some of them will return to their homes, but some of them have no homes to return to, or homes that don't want them to return. We were wondering if you would be willing to house some of these tributes."

"I think so," Katniss said apprehensively. "It'll be a little bit difficult for us, but I really want to help."

"OK. So let me run through the procedures with you now.

"You will be hosting every girl aged 12-15. The exception is if there is a living Victor from their birth district who is capable of hosting, so from Two, Seven, Four, and Five. As such, you'll also get all of the tributes from Twelve regardless of their age.

"Who's the living Victor from Five?"

"Aubree Lune. She's the one who escaped into the woods with her family before the Victor's Purge. She returned to Five, and she's hosting boys 12-15. Johanna has the older group of boys, Annie has the older girls, and Enobaria is taking most of the Careers, with some exceptions."

"Is everyone else on board already?"

"Yes. Anyway, once we deem that a tribute or group of tributes is ready to leave the Capitol, you will receive a notification. You will have already received a dossier from me with the previous group of tributes telling you about their story, family, and anything else you need to know about them. In that dossier, you'll also know whether they'll be staying with you or going back to their homes or home districts. Got it?"

"Got it."

"The first tribute coming to you is named Tessa Rae Stalk from District 9. She will be coming tomorrow, and she is bringing with her the tribute dossiers with all of the tributes who will be staying with you from the 74th Games – your games."

"TOMORROW?!"

"Yeah. We wanted to wait to ask until we knew she was ready, and she's been ready for a while now. You'll see an announcement tonight on Panem Central Network, and we're not sure if we'll show her, but we won't mention where she's going. Bye, Katniss. Thank you so much for your help." Paylor hung up the phone.

 _Wow_ , thought Katniss. _We have a lot to do to get the house ready before Tessa comes tomorrow._


	7. Chapter 5: Feeling Good

" _It's a new dawn,  
It's a new day,  
It's a new life for me,  
And I'm feelin' good"_

 _-"Feelin' Good" by Nina Simone_

* * *

Nothing had confused Tessa more in her life than what happened on July 25, HG90.

The last thing she clearly remembered was launching up into the Arena. She couldn't even place anything from the Bloodbath. Just black, and then a bright white light.

Then she woke up in a bed, dressed in just a paper gown. She heard the beep of a monitor, which steadily increased. She was acutely aware of a bunch of people freaking out before she fell asleep.

The next time she woke up, she was much less tired, and was actually able to sit up and take in her surroundings. She realized that she was in the training center, of all places! She suddenly felt a wave of nerves that she'd never felt before. Were the Games just a dream? Would she have to go through that all again?

Suddenly, she heard a voice. "74F9 is awake, and her heart rate has spiked." Tessa looked around to find a woman approaching her, who explained that she had been brought back to life after being killed in the 74th Hunger Games, and that it was now 16 years later.

Tessa had never been more grateful for anything in her life.

The next month was full of tests on Tessa. She was staying in the Training Center, which brought back some bad memories, even though it had been completely remodeled. This time, however, she was staying on the fourth floor, and though the bottom floor had been transformed into a lounge space and game room, she longed for someone to be with. Or, really, somewhere else to go.

It took the woman, President Paylor, a long time to figure out what to do with Tessa, partly because they had to make sure her body was stable, but partly because she really hadn't thought the project through. At the beginning of September, it was finally decided that the revived tributes should go to the homes of the living Victors. Each of the bottom 5 floors was designated for a different destination, and though Tessa didn't know her destination yet, she knew that anyone else who would go there would stay on that floor.

Tessa's wish for a friend was fulfilled on September 5, when the male tribute from District 4 from her Games, Sebastian Aronig, woke up. Tessa was two years older than Sebastian, who was only 12, and though their relationship remained platonic, he fulfilled Tessa's request for companionship. And so two weeks passed by blissfully for both involved.

* * *

 _Date: September 19, HG90_

 _Location: Training Center, the Captiol_

* * *

Tessa woke up, as usual, to the sound of her alarm. She was more than thrilled, however, to see that the clock read 8:00 AM, as opposed to 7:00 AM. For the past few months, she had been very strictly monitored in terms of her sleep, because the Captiol was concerned that sleeping for too long would affect her body's ability to wake up again. Thankfully, her body was now deemed ready to handle it. Even better, she still had another hour and a half before her tutoring for the day began! She elected to take the time to relax in her room before going downstairs. After getting dressed, she braided her strawberry blonde hair down the back. Normally, she would use a little bit of mascara to emphasize her hazel eyes, but she decided against it for that day. She then ordered an omelet from the kitchens for breakfast, and hung around in her room until 9:30.

When she came downstairs to the lounge, she was greeted by President Paylor. "Good morning, Madam President," she said.

"Good morning, Tessa. Would you come with me to my office for a second?"

"Of course." Tessa followed President Paylor down a few corridors and through a tunnel before arriving at the office. Paylor swiped a card to grant the pair access, and then motioned for Tessa to take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. Paylor then took a seat behind the desk.

"Well, I have some news for you. After careful consideration, we have determined that you are ready to leave the Capitol and return to the districts."

"But I like it here!" protested Tessa. "I don't want to go back home anyway!"

"Well, you won't be going back to District 9, as we know what your situation was there. Instead, you'll be going to District 12, to live with Katniss and Peeta Everdeen-Mellark."

 _Katniss and Peeta,_ thought Tessa. _Do I really get to live with the Star-Crossed Lovers? Can I really live there, instead of in District 9?_

"Tonight," Paylor continued, "we will be announcing to the country the success of the project that has revived you. Tomorrow, you will leave the Capitol and go to District 12, where you can live for as long as you'd like. The one question that still must be answered is, would you like to appear or for your name to be mentioned on the broadcast tonight?"

"I'd rather not be on screen myself, so I can get ready to leave, but I wouldn't object to having a picture of me on screen. But not my Games picture."

"In that case, I'm now going to send you back to your floor, so that we can get a nice picture of you. I will have some other things to give you tomorrow. You may watch the broadcast if you wish, but you don't have to, because you already know almost everything that will be said on the broadcast. I will be back tomorrow to give you final instructions for departure. You can go back to your floor now."

Tessa went back to the elevator and headed up to her floor. She was greeted by a woman holding a garment bag and a makeup bag. Tessa brought the garment bag into her room and found a very pretty, knee-length lavender dress that looked like a slightly older version of a flower girl dress she had found in a catalog the week before. "Doesn't this make me look a bit young?" she asked the woman.

"We're going for the innocence look," she replied. "Little girls are a symbol of innocence, and we want to make you look innocence. You're already relatively short." Tessa couldn't argue with that. Four feet nine inches wasn't exactly tall.

After she got dressed, Tessa put on a pair of white kitten heels and then sat down to get her hair and makeup done. The woman straightened Tessa's hair and put in a clear headband with a lavender flower on it. Next came simple, natural makeup, and then Tessa was whisked up to the 12th floor, where they found a makeshift photo studio set up.

"Hello, Tessa! My name is Daniel, and I'll be your photographer today. We're going to do a few quick shots, and then you'll be free to go downstairs and pack."

Tessa really enjoyed the photo session. They had her do a few different poses, and then caught her from different angles. After the photo session was done, Tessa went back down to her room to settle down and pack. She wasn't quite sure what the next 48 hours would bring, but she did know that she was hours away from the beginning of a new chapter in her life. And she had a good feeling about it.


	8. Chapter 6: Consider Yourself

_Consider yourself at home  
Consider yourself one of the family  
We've taken to you so strong  
It's clear we're going to get along_

 _-"Consider Yourself" from Oliver_

* * *

Tessa intended to watch the broadcast.

Really, she did.

She had been watching TV when the broadcast notification came up, two hours prior to the broadcast, as was Capitol protocol. However, the time selected for the broadcast was 10 PM, in an attempt to avoid too many younger kids watching the broadcast due to the sensitive subject matter. So Tessa tried to stay up for as long as she could, without success. One minute, the clock read 9:30 PM, and the next, her alarm was blaring at 8:30 AM – an alarm that she didn't remember setting.

Further confusing Tessa were the three baby blue suitcases on her floor and the matching backpack on her desk. Each bag had the same luggage tag – a mint green oval with 74F9 printed on it in baby blue. It took her a second to remember why they were there, but then it came to her – she was going to District 12. She remembered packing the night before, but she hadn't packed nearly that much stuff, and certainly not in those suitcases. She figured there was a reason why her stuff had been switched, but she wasn't quite sure what that reason was. _I'll ask President Paylor about it before I leave_ , Tessa decided, and got out of bed to prepare for the day.

She found that an outfit had been laid out for her – a baby blue t-shirt and black pants. Tessa got dressed and finished the rest of her morning routine before finding a note on her door.

 _Good morning Tessa,_

 _When you have finished getting ready for the day, please report to the common area on your floor. You do not need to bring your suitcases with you, but please bring your backpack and anything else you would like from your room, as you will not be returning. You will be having breakfast in the common area._

 _President Paylor_

Tessa glanced around her room. She really didn't see much in her room that she wanted to bring with her, especially as there was no clothing left in the room. She took her backpack and went into the common area, where she found President Paylor waiting for her. As Tessa took a seat at the table, Paylor motioned to a few servants, who took her suitcases away. Tessa noticed that the sun had just barely risen over the surrounding mountains, and she really liked the view.

"All right, Tessa. While you eat, I'll go over the procedures with you. Before I begin, do you have any questions?"

"Yes. Why am I matching my suitcase?"

"Because baby blue is District 9's district color."

"But I thought our district color was beige."

"When industries shifted after the rebellion, district colors also shifted. You'll learn about that later with your tutor. What you need to know for now is that Nine's new color is baby blue, and Twelve's new color is mint green. Any other questions?" Tessa shook her head. "Good. Let's begin with procedures. First, I'm going to give you this card. This is your tribute ID card. It has your full name, your Games picture, and your tribute ID number, 74F9, meaning 74th Games, and female from 9. These are the ID cards for Katniss and Peeta, and they need to be delivered when you get to District 12. Now, in your backpack you'll find a diary, which you can write in as you see fit. You will also find a laptop, which you will use for communication back to the Capitol if necessary. Katniss and Peeta's house has internet capabilities for the laptop, as it is in Victor's Village. You can also play games on the laptop, if you'd like."

Suddenly, the elevator door opened. A girl with two long, auburn braids and freckles came in. "Howdy, friend! I'm Penny Robins."

"Penny! Welcome! I'm President Paylor."

"It's mighty nice to meet you, ma'am."

"I'm just finishing up a few things with Tessa here, and then I'll give you some time to talk before Tessa leaves." Penny nodded. "OK. So, now I'm going to give you this envelope. It is of the utmost importance that this reaches Katniss safely, and in this exact condition. Do not open it. It is a pretty long ride to District 12, so you will be leaving in about 10 minutes. You can hang out with Penny a little bit, but then we'll send you on your way. Please go immediately to the roof, where a Capitol attendant will lead you to the hovercraft. On the hovercraft, we'll need to run a quick checkup, so please don't go to the bathroom before you leave."

With that, President Paylor left unceremoniously. Tessa turned to Penny. "I remember you," she said.

"You do?"

"Yeah. We were talking about forming an alliance before the Games, but then we changed our minds."

"Right, I do remember that. When did you wake up?"

"About three months ago. But I don't think that you'll be here as long. They just kept me here because they didn't know what to do with me. Once you're deemed healthy, you'll join me."

"How do you know I'll go to where you're going?"

"Because anyone who will live on this floor is going to eventually go where I'm going."

"Where's that?"

"Katniss Everdeen's house."

"That's so cool! She won our Games?"

"Yeah. I'm glad it was her. She did a lot. You'll learn about those things later."

"You can't just say something and then say that you'll explain later!" exclaimed Penny. Before Tessa had a chance to respond, a Capitol attendant came in and said, "Time to leave, Tessa."

"All right. I'll see you soon, Penny, when you come to 12!"

"Good luck!" The two embraced, and then Tessa went into the elevator and headed up to the roof. She felt similar nerves to the last time she went up to meet a hovercraft on the roof, but she hoped that the result this time would be different.

* * *

Kenneth was not cooperating.

Katniss really needed Ken to settle down for a nap so that she could get stuff done before Tessa came. Dalia was at school, and Peeta was at work, so it was just her and the small, squirmy child that she was chasing around the house. If he would just go down for a nap, or even stay in one place for more than six seconds, her life would be much easier. "Come on, Ken," she coaxed. "Do you wanna play in the playroom?"

"No."

"Do you want to go hang out in your room?"

"No."

"Do you wanna listen to me?"

"NO!" Kenneth had recently discovered the word no, and now he loved it.

"OK. So don't cause too much trouble, and I'll leave you alone."

Katniss ran upstairs to their fourth bedroom and checked that everything was ready for the girls. The room had been outfitted with four bunk beds, one on each wall, and some dressers for clothing and storage. Though it was fairly plain at that point, she knew it would be enough for Tessa, but she wasn't sure what would happen when more girls came to live with her. But that was a problem that they wouldn't have to approach until much later, or at least she hoped.

After making sure that Tessa's bed was ready, she went downstairs to wait on the porch for the hovercraft. She knew it would be coming at some point in the afternoon, but she hoped that it would come before Dalia came home from school, because that would make things much more complicated. Luckily for Katniss, that problem was going to be avoided.

"Plane! Plane!" yelled Kenneth, running out onto the porch. "Purple plane!"

"No, Kenneth. That's called a hovercraft." Katniss really didn't like the memories that materialized as she saw the hovercraft lower down slowly towards her house. But she knew that, instead of picking her up, it would be dropping someone off.

As the hovercraft came closer, however, it became obvious that there wouldn't be enough room for the hovercraft to land. Instead, it hovered in the air and lowered down a ladder. A strawberry blonde-haired girl wearing a baby blue backpack was frozen to the ladder, her feet on its bottom rung. Once the ladder reached the ground, the electric current cut off, and she jumped off.

"Tessa?" asked Katniss. The girl nodded. "Hello! In case you don't remember me, I'm Katniss Everdeen."

"I know," replied Tessa. "You're the Girl on Fire. You're a cool person!"

"It's so nice to meet you finally. Do you have any suitcases or anything?"

"Yes, three of them. They're coming." As Tessa spoke, three baby blue suitcases fell out of the hovercraft. Tessa took one suitcase and Katniss took two, and they brought them into the house.

"Welcome home! This is your home as well as ours, so make yourself comfortable. We can unpack your suitcases later, when Peeta gets home."

"Wow. You have such a nice house!"

"Thank you. We got it after winning the Games, but we really feel like it's ours now, not the Capitol's. Let me quickly show you around. On this floor, we have our living room, kitchen, dining room, playroom for the kids, and an office. If we go upstairs, you'll see all of the sleeping areas. We have my room, my kids' rooms, and the nursery. And this is your room. It's kind of empty right now, but we're expecting that more girls will come eventually.

"It's actually a good thing that you're here, Tessa, because you're going to be a big help for the next year or so. See, I'm expecting triplets, and my doctor will be putting me on bedrest at some point. So it'll be great to have a non-working pair of hands in the house to help out."

"That's so exciting! When are they due?"

"Forty weeks is March 18, but they'll be out before then. We're just not sure when."

"That's so exciting! I'll be more than glad to help."

"Wonderful." Katniss suddenly felt a tug on the leg of her pants. She looked down to find her curly-haired little boy desperate for attention. "Come here." Katniss picked him up. "This is Kenneth, my two-year-old son. He is currently in love with the word no. But we love him anyway. Right, Kenny?"

"YA!"

"Dalia, my daughter, will get home in about 45 minutes, so we can do a little bit of unpacking now, if you'd like."

"I think that's a good idea," replied Tessa, "considering that I don't really know what's in my suitcases."

"Cool. Let's bring your suitcases upstairs first, and we'll go from there."

Katniss and Tessa worked together to bring the suitcases and backpack into Tessa's room. "I have a few things to give you first," said Tessa. "First, I have a tribute ID card for you, and one for Peeta. I also have this envelope which I was instructed not to open."

"I know what that is. Let me put it in my room and then I'll be back." After a few moments, Katniss returned. "OK. So let's start handling the suitcases." Katniss picked one to open first. Sitting on top were a few dresses. "Dresses. Shoot!"

"What's the problem?"

"So we're going to a wedding on Sunday. I already asked the bride, who is one of my family friends, and she already said it's totally fine for you to tag along. I just forgot that you need a dress."

"I have enough dresses here. We can just pick one out later. Do you think we can finish unpacking before Dalia gets home?"

"I don't know. Let's see!"

They did.

"Nice work, Tessa! We might have to move some of this stuff around before some other girls come, but for now, this should work."

"Cool. So when does Dalia get home?"

Katniss checked her watch. "Any minute. Trust me, you'll hear it." Just as Katniss finished speaking, Tessa heard a lot of little voices from outside her window.

"Are those the kids?"

"Yes." Tessa and Katniss went downstairs to the kitchen. "Wait here for a sec. I'll extract Dalia and bring her back. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be bringing her cousin Max home too. I hope he knows if he's supposed to come with me or not." Katniss left the house for a moment, but soon returned with a little girl. "This is my daughter Dalia. Dalia, this is Tessa. She's going to be staying with us for a while. She's going to be kind of like a big sister."

"A big sister!" exclaimed Dalia. She ran to Tessa and gave her a big hug. "I like you already."

"Thank you, Dalia. How old are you?"

"I'm five! I'm going to go play with Ken now. OK, Tessa?"

"OK, Dalia." And with that, the little girl scampered off to the playroom. "She's something else," Tessa remarked.

"Yes, she is." Katniss and Tessa moved into the kitchen. "Would you like a glass of water, Tessa? And have you had lunch yet?"

"I had lunch on the hovercraft, but a glass of water would be very nice." Katniss obliged, and then began to prepare dinner. "So who is getting married on Sunday exactly?" Tessa asked.

"OK. So my sister, Prim, is married to a guy named Rory Hawthorne. His sister, Posy, is the one getting married to her fiancé, Caleb."

"That's so exciting!"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You don't sound so excited."

"See, Posy's whole family used to live here, in 12, before the rebellion," Katniss explained. "Our fathers died in the same mine accident, and our families were very close. Her oldest brother, Gale, and I were very good friends, and we worked together to provide for our families. But during the rebellion, Gale designed a bomb that nearly killed my sister. So we kind of lost touch. I haven't seen him since Prim and Rory's wedding, which was before I had Dalia. I think he now lives in either District 13, the military district, or the Capitol. I'm not sure which."

"Oh. That's a problem."

"Yeah. But I hope that it won't be too awkward, considering that we're both in the bridal party."

"Oh." A slightly awkward silence followed. Luckily for both, Peeta walked in the door at that exact moment.

"Hi, honey! How was work?" exclaimed Katniss.

"It was good. A bit stressful, as always, but Gram decided to take the late shift today so I could come home early and meet our guest! Hi, Tessa! I'm Peeta. It's so good to… well, I feel like meet you is the wrong word in this case. So I'm going to say see you."

"It's nice to see you as well."

"How long was your flight?"

"I'm not sure exactly how long, but I left at about 9, and got here around the time that Dalia got home, so 4 PM or so?"

"Yeah, about 4 PM," clarified Katniss. "That's not too long, right?"

"I think it could have been a faster flight, but it doesn't make much difference to me. The hovercraft was quite comfortable."

"That's good," said Peeta. "Welcome to our home! We're so happy to have you. Katniss, what do you need me to do?"

"Can you start on the chicken, please? Peeta's brother, Gram, is coming over for dinner with his wife, Ember, and their two kids. Max is about Dalia's age, and Hannah is half a year younger than Kenneth."

"Cool!" exclaimed Tessa.

"You'll probably meet all of my and Peeta's family before the end of next week. We spend a lot of time together."

"That must be nice," Tessa said wistfully.

* * *

Dinner that night was a pleasant affair. Though Tessa was a little bit confused by the conversation, she was able to chime in a little bit, and she felt comfortable in the atmosphere of the house, something she wasn't used to feeling.

After dinner, after the guests left and Kenneth went to bed, Katniss asked Dalia, "Do you want to help me and Tessa pick out a dress for Posy's wedding?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Dalia. She ran upstairs, and Katniss and Tessa followed into Tessa's room.

"What color should I wear?" Tessa asked Dalia, opening her closet to show the littler girl her dresses.

"I think you should wear pink!"

"Dalia, you think everything should be pink," Katniss muttered.

"But pink is pretty! I'm wearing pink!"

"Yes, but you're wearing pink because you're a part of the wedding party."

"There's gonna be a party?"

"Sort of. There will be a party, but the wedding party is the people who walk down the aisle. Because you're a flower girl and you're going to walk down the aisle, you're a part of the wedding party. And the color for the party is pink. So I don't think it's a good idea for Tessa to wear pink if she's not part of the wedding party."

"Oh. OK."

"So, what color should I wear?"

"Let's look at the dresses." Dalia went into the closet and looked at the dresses for a second. "This dress looks like my dress for the wedding, but it's purple not pink!"

"I'm not surprised," Tessa replied.

"I like this one!" Dalia picked out a teal dress with sequins on top and a matching ribbon around her waist. "Mommy, what do you think?"

"It's not what I think, it's what Tessa thinks!"

"I like it," said Tessa. "I hope it fits me."

"I think it will. Now, Dalia, we need to get ready for bed. Do you want Tessa to read you a story?"

"Yeah!"

Katniss had never seen Dalia get ready for bed so quickly. After about 5 minutes, she was in PJs, teeth brushed, and ready for a story.

"What book do you want me to read, Dalia?"

"Mommy's least favorite book. _Ten Little Monkeys!_ "

After reading Dalia the book, it became clear to Tessa why it was Katniss's least favorite. She was bored after the first page. Once the book was finished, and she said good night to Dalia, the little girl snuggled into Tessa's lap. Tessa watched as Dalia's breathing slowed and the little girl fell asleep.


	9. Tribute Profiles - 74th Hunger Games

Late that night, once everyone else in the house had gone to sleep, Katniss turned on the little lamp next to her bed. She carefully opened the envelope from Tessa and took out a sheaf of papers. _Oof,_ thought Katniss. _This is going to be a long read._

* * *

 **Tribute Dossiers – 74** **th** **Hunger Games**

 **Katniss,**

 **Thank you so much for agreeing to host the tributes from previous Hunger Games. Enclosed in this packet is all of the information you need to know about the tributes from the 74** **th** **Games. If you have any questions, please let me know. Some tributes and/or their families have provided more information about the tribute than others.**

 **Thanks and Good Luck,  
President Paylor**

* * *

Tribute Profile: Glimmer Lawrence, 74F1

Age at Time of Death: 15

Birthday: November 21, HG58

Glimmer was born as the third child of Greg Lawrence, one of the top trainers in the Career Academy of District 1. Greg was a single father, and so naturally he decided to bring his daughters to work. He was determined that one of his daughters would ascend to the same level as his other students. After all, they were from the best genetics! All three girls started training from a young age, but the oldest daughter, Gemma, quickly became his focus. He would likely have the best luck with her, he thought, as she was the strongest of the three girls by far. By the year HG67, when Gemma was 17, Grace, the middle daughter, was 13, and Glimmer was 8, it was determined that Gemma was more than ready to volunteer.

And she won.

Things really changed in the Lawrence family after that. Greg now didn't just want a Victor – he wanted a dynasty. So he began to push the second daughter, Grace. Grace was much more timid than her sisters, but consequentially wouldn't dare disobey their father. So she played along and trained. In HG71, Greg advised to the heads of the Career Academy that Grace be selected as a volunteer. Because of Greg's reputation, there was no way that they would deny him. Though strong, Grace didn't want to compete, but she volunteered anyway, because she thought it would be worse for her at home if she didn't.

Unfortunately, Careers smell fear. For the first time in nearly two decades, a Career from 1 was not only not admitted into the Career pack, but murdered by the Careers on the first night of the Games. Glimmer, who was twelve at the time, was heartbroken. Luckily for Greg, he was able to blame Grace's failure on the other Careers, who didn't let her into the pack. Suddenly, Greg was more determined than ever to crank out a Victor, as he only had one more shot. Glimmer was forced to train harder than ever. And though she didn't really want to compete, she was as strong as Gemma, and now had the motivation of avenging her sister's death.

At age 15, Glimmer volunteered, just two years after Grace died. She did well, eventually coming in 11th out of 24. But her death was the nail in her father's figurative coffin – it was one thing to train a tribute who wasn't accepted into the Career pack, but it was another to train a Career who was killed by a tribute from 12. Greg was dismissed from the Career Academy, as his track record between his daughters' deaths wasn't that great either. Gemma, forced to mentor yet another sister to her death, kicked her father out of her house in Victor's Village. He was never heard from again. Gemma was killed in the Victor's Purge.

Glimmer will remain in District 12 until further notice. We will be giving her counseling and therapy to ensure that she will be safe and sane around the younger former tributes, but as she is younger than most of the other Careers, we think it is in her best interest to not be around the other former Careers.

* * *

 _Wow_ , thought Katniss. _I never knew that about Glimmer. I almost wish I had._ Katniss turned the page to find a stack of medical records, school transcripts, and lots of other documents that Katniss didn't want to read. She decided that, for the night, it would make more sense to just read the profiles.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Gidget Ramon, 74F3

Age at Time of Death: 13

Birthday: July 11, HG60

Gidget can best be described by the word average. Everything about her is average - her height, her weight, her brown hair and brown eyes. She's a member of an average family of four – herself, her parents, and her brother, Gadget – of average wealth and all of that. There really isn't anything special about Gidget. Except for her intelligence.

Gidget has a brilliant mind, augmented by her photographic memory and her ability to quickly think and pick up and understand material in school. Gidget can look at a device and almost instantly understand not only how it works, but also how to build and demolish it. Gidget's slightly shy personality prevented her from being able to really work with the Careers, and she never forgave her district parther, Techno, for telling the Careers that she was not nearly as intelligent as he was. The two were always in the same classes at school, though for the record, she was at the top of her class, and he was at the bottom.

Though she was an intelligent tribute, untrained tributes don't do very well in the Games. As can be expected, Gidget died in the bloodbath.

Gidget will be returning to District 3, but will need to stay in District 12 for about a week to reacclimate to life in the districts.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Finch Shadow, 74F5

Age at Time of Death: 15

Birthday: April 9, HG59

Finch was always a very quiet child. She never liked calling attention to herself, but was always willing to help out the family, especially with her older sister, Robin. The age difference between the two was four years, almost to the but they sometimes seemed like twins, both in looks and in personality.

Finch's family wasn't always very well off, and so Robin took out tesserae with the intention of keeping her sister safe. So, once Robin aged out of the reaping system, Finch decided, without telling her sister, to take out tesserae in an attempt to help her family.

Finch was phenomenally sneaky, an offshoot of her quietness. She used that to her advantage, sneaking around the Arena to obtain food and staying away from the other tributes. That ended up being her downfall, as she stole a bag of nightlock berries that led to her demise,

After Finch's death and the rebellion, Finch's parents and sister decided that they needed a change of scenery. So, they moved to District 12, the district that needed the most rebuilding. They hoped that rebuilding the district would help rebuild their lives.

Finch will be living in District 12 with her family, cared for by both her sister and her parents.

* * *

Savannah Mouron, 74F8

Age at Time of Death: 13

Birthday: January 7, HG61

Savannah was the oldest daughter born to two loving parents. She had two younger brothers, Macon and Athens, and a baby sister, Marietta, born in April of HG74. Unfortunately for Savannah, her father was one of the biggest rebels in the district. The main method of punishment for those leaders was not death, for the most part, because there were so many people involved with the rebellion that it would likely result in a decimation of the work force. Instead, the reapings in the district were rigged towards the children of the rebel leaders. More often than not, younger girls were reaped, as they were seen as greater symbols of innocence. But the greater the leader, the more likely his kids would be reaped.

Savannah knew from a relatively young age that she would end up being reaped once she grew older. It wouldn't be a good idea, however, for her to train, because it would acknowledge the existence of the Capitol and its ability to influence the decisions of the people in the district. But she consequentially never learned how to use common sense in a Games situation. So, she decided intelligently to light a fire on the first night. That didn't end well for her.

Like District 12, District 8 was almost completely destroyed during the Rebellion. However, unlike District 12, District 8 had a (previously secret) underground connection to District 13. So in the weeks leading up to the first bombing of the District, they began to evacuate the children. They tried to go from youngest to oldest, up to the age of 11, as reaping age also indicated the age at which someone would begin work in the factories in District 8. Unfortunately, they also had to keep an eye on the status of the parents, as the children of rebel leaders leaving first would look suspicious. So Savannah's siblings were among the kids at the bottom of the list. Marietta Mouron was the last child to make it out of District 8 before it was bombed, in the arms of an 11-year-old girl.

The refugee children of District 8 had three chaperones from the District who attempted to raise them as if they were still at home, but it was sometimes hard to conform to the militaristic attitude of District 13. After the war, 13 became the district reserved for police and military training, and so the children from District 8 were relocated to an orphanage in District 6, where Marietta spent most of her childhood.

Savannah will be returning to District 12, and likely staying there until she is old enough to choose where she would like to live. She will likely want to spend time with Marietta, and so she will travel back and forth periodically.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Savannah has severe seasonal allergies. She didn't have a lot of problems in that regard in 8, but may require allergy medications when spring comes around.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Tessa Rae Stalk, 74F9

Age at Time of Death: 14

Birthday: October 31, HG59

Tessa's parents fully intended on only having one child. They wanted a son, because that way, he would obtain their property after marriage and it would stay in the family. However, they had a daughter. As they had been preparing for a son, they had only picked out boys' names, and so named her Tessa Rae after her father's profession, tesserae production.

Tessa had a great first 5 years of life, until her mother became pregnant again. An ultrasound confirmed that it was, indeed, a son. So Tessa became an unnecessary child, as her brother would obtain all of the property per the rules of District 9. Tessa began to work as a forced laborer, sometimes skipping school at the beginning of harvest season to help her dad with work. The care went from borderline love to borderline abuse once he was born, and Tessa began to count down the days until she could get out of her house. so it was sort of a relief for Tessa when she was reaped – after all, death couldn't possibly be worse than what was happening in her house. but more than anything else, she longed for a family who truly always loved her.

When the Capitol was selecting a first tribute to revive, they were looking for a young tribute with not too much damage caused to his/her body during the Games. Tessa was selected as that candidate. Luckily for all of the other former tributes, it was successful.

Tessa will also remain in District 12, as it will be safest for her to avoid her family. We expect that she will especially need some help with schoolwork, as her parents kept her home from school so much that it set her behind.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In an ironic twist, Tessa is gluten sensitive. She is good at monitoring it herself, but does require medication before eating meals with gluten in it.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Penny Robins, 74F10

Age at Time of Death: 15

Birthday: May 14, HG59

Penny was not an intentional child per se. Her parents were involved in an illegal animal trade in District 10, and wanted to keep any child out of it. But they weren't opposed to having a child, and so while they didn't try to avoid having a child, they didn't specifically try for it. That's how Penny and her brother John came into the family 7 years apart. Like in many other districts, penalties for the parents would often include an increased chance of reaping their child, and that is, in a nutshell, how Tessa was reaped.

As Penny grew up, she gained a genuine love for animals. She would often spend her days riding her horse around the pastures surrounding the district, and was much more comfortable around any cow or horse than around a human. But she was forced by her mentor to form an alliance for the Games, and nearly selected Tessa before going with her surprisingly competent yet equally antisocial and untrained district partner. He ran away from the bloodbath, while she ran towards it. It would not be surprising who lasted longer in the Games.

Penny will remain in District 12, as the repercussions from her parents' animal trade may have unintended consequences for her, and we would like to keep her safe.

* * *

Katniss had ingested a lot of information from those profiles. She figured that she had to be done, but then she turned to the last tribute profile. And she instinctively knew that she had to keep reading.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Rue McClellan, 74F11

Age at Time of Death: 12

Birthday: December 9, HG61

Rue was the oldest child of a family with 6 kids. Unlike many families in the district, however, only three kids were their own. Rue was born to her mother when she was 40 years old, and they then adopted 5 children between then and when Rue was reaped.

District 11 had one of the earliest beginning-to-work ages of any district, as kids would begin to work as early as 8. Rue, who was always small, had an easier job than most, as she would jump from tree to tree checking them for fruit and eventually spotting the flag indicating quitting time. She was one of the few kids who could do that, and therefore was one of the most important workers in the district, as well as one of the most beloved, though nobody would volunteer for her.

Rue used her skills in the orchard to her advantage, hopping atop the trees in the arena and from obstacle to obstacle in the training center to gain the respect of the Gamemakers and safety from the other tributes. Her death sent ripples across the nation, and was one of the first sparks of rebellion.

Though Rue's parents wish to care for her, they are both simply too old at this point to care for another child, and so she will go back there for holidays and special occasions but mostly live in District 12.

* * *

Katniss put all of the papers back into the purple envelope in which they came. She made a mental note to put them in a safe place away from her kids, and then quickly fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 7: Storyteller

_My friend told me the story  
And I'll pass it on to you  
It was handed down this century  
And I swear that it is true._

 _-"Storyteller" by Ray Davies_

* * *

"OK, class!" said Mrs. Anderson. "Playtime is over! Please clean up and go sit on the circle mat!"

The 25 kindergarteners all quickly cleaned up their play-stations and found their spot on the mat. Dalia sat in between Annie and Timothy.

"So, what comes next, class?"

"Storytime!" they chorused.

"Right! We want to make a change to storytime, though. Soon, you guys are going to get to tell a story, one of you each day. We want to get to know you, so pick a story that you think represents you. Do we have someone who wants to go first?"

Bella's hand shot up. "I would love to go!" she exclaimed.

"Great! Would you be ready to go tomorrow?"

"I think so."

"Very nice. We can't wait to hear your story, Bella!"

* * *

Bella lived in a little house in the Jewish quarter of District 12. Well, quarter might be a bit of a misnomer. There were only about 40 Jewish families there, who moved in after the Mockingjay Rebellion from the larger Jewish community that had been camouflaged by the wheat fields of District 9 during the Hunger Games era. The Jews were good Panemians – they tried their best to blend in with their non-Jewish counterparts on the outside while observing their customs on the inside. For the most part, they married within their religion, though children who intermarried were encouraged to bring their spouses into the folds.

Bella was the product of one of these intermarriages. Her Jewish mother, who was much more strong-willed than her father, convinced the latter to convert to Judaism, and soon after, Bella was born. She was given a Hebrew name, Batya Liel, to go with her English name, Bella Lilli.

The plan from birth was for Bella to attend the small Jewish private school run and taught at by other members of the Jewish community. However, a flaw in the plan presented itself 3 years later, when the girl picked up a book and read it out loud to her mother. Her parents realized that Bella wouldn't be able to get nearly as good of an education at the private school as she would at the district school. So, when it came time for Bella to start Kindergarten, they chose instead to send her to the public school, something that many Jewish families didn't choose to do. The fact that Bella had a religion made her different from her classmates. But Bella liked being different.

* * *

When she got to the meeting place, Bella took her mother's hand as usual. It was a bit of a walk from the meeting place to her house, but Bella didn't mind, especially because her mother was always there to protect her.

"So, how was your day, darling?"

"It was good! I need your help, Mommy."

"What do you need?" asked her mother.

"I need a good story."

"Why?"

"Mrs. Anderson is having us tell stories during storytime for the next few weeks. She asked if anybody wanted to go first, and I said I would, but then I realized that I don't know any stories really."

"I'm sure you know a good story, honey. Did she say what she wants it to be about?"

"Something about ME."

"So why not tell a story about a Jewish holiday? Like Purim?"

"Purim? But it's September. Purim isn't until March or April this year."

"But it's a good story, and much less violent than the story of Hanukkah."

"OK. So how do I tell it?"

"Don't you remember the story? You've heard it so many times." Bella's mom pulled out her key, and unlocked the door to the house. it was getting a bit small for the family, especially with a sixth member on the way, but they were going to make it work. "Here," she said, pulling a book from the shelf. "This is a book about the story of Purim. Why don't you bring it in to school so that you can read from it?"

"Sure!" exclaimed Bella.

"Do you want to practice now for me?"

"OK!" Bella picked up the book and opened it to the first page.

"Once upon a time…"

* * *

Bella was bubbling with excited as she came to school, Purim book in tow. She knew it pretty much back to front, and she was really excited to tell it to her friends. She figured that there wasn't much that descried her more than being Jewish, and so she had to tell a story from her heritage.

When she got to school, Bella hung her backpack on a hook and carefully placed the book in her cubby. She waited patiently all day, but come storytime, she was as ready as she could be to tell her story. Bella sat in Mrs. Anderson's storytelling chair and opened the book. She took a deep breath, and began.

"Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom called Shushan, there lived a young woman named Hadassah. She lived with her uncle Mordechai, who always called her Dassy. Mordechai and Dassy were both Jewish.

"The king of Shushan was named Achashverosh. He was powerful, but lonely, because he wanted a wife. He decided to search far and wide across the kingdom for a new woman. One day, his messengers came upon Dassy. They knew that she was the right person to be the queen.

"Before she left, Mordechai gave his niece a very important set of instructions. He told her, 'Dassy, when the king asks you for your name, you need to say that it is Esther. Also, don't tell the king that you are Jewish, or it could put you, me, and all of the Jews in Shushan in danger.

"So Dassy, now called Esther, moved into the palace with the help of her uncle. While Mordechai was on the way back, he ran into Haman, the king's second-in-command, who commanded that Mordechai bow down to him. Mordechai said no, because he only bowed down to the Jewish God. Haman got really mad, because he hated it when someone didn't listen to him or bow down to him.

"Haman went to the Achashverosh and said, 'King Achashverosh, I need your help! There are people in the kingdom who are different from the rest of us, and they don't listen to what I say. I'm concerned that they will cause problems in the kingdom!'

"Achashverosh replied, 'You can do whatever you need to do to get rid of those people.'

"Haman went back to his house and wrote an order that all Jews in the kingdom must leave on the 15th of Adar."

Annie raised her hand. "What's adar?"

"It's a Jewish month, that usually falls between February and March or so." Bella looked back down at the page and continued with the story.

"When Mordechai heard about Haman's decree, he became very sad, because he didn't want to leave his home. He went to the palace and asked for Esther, who invited him up to her suite. 'Esther, Haman has decreed that all of the Jews in the kingdom have to leave! You have to go to the king and ask him to help us. It is our only hope!'

"Esther was worried, because she knew that she could only see the king if he asked her to come, and if she came without her permission, she would be killed. But she knew that she was the last hope for her people. So she spent three days waiting and preparing herself.

"The day came to go to the king. Esther got dressed up in her prettiest dress, and went to see the king. When she got there, the king extended his golden scepter, which meant that she was safe. Esther said to the king, 'I have a small request for you, King Achashverosh. I wish to invite you and Haman to a banquet tomorrow night.' Achashverosh was always happy to eat, and so he accepted her offer.

"The next night, after they had eaten, Achashverosh said, 'Is there anything else that you wish, my queen? Anything, up to half the kingdom, shall be yours. Just ask!'

"Esther took a deep breath. 'Achashverosh, there is a man in the kingdom who wishes to get rid of me and all of my people. If he is not stopped soon, I and my family, and all of my friends, will have to leave, just because we are all Jewish.'

"Achashverosh was shocked. 'Who would do such a thing to my queen?' he exclaimed.

"Esther pointed to the third person at the banquet. 'It is Haman!' Achashverosh was so mad that he kicked Haman out of the kingdom, and put Mordechai in his place. Esther now didn't have to hide her real name or identity – she could truly be herself.

"The End."


	11. Chapter 8: Getting to Know You

_Getting to know you,  
Getting to know all about you.  
Getting to like you,  
Getting to hope you like me_

 _-"Getting to Know You" from The King and I_

* * *

Penny was feeling lonely.

The first night after she was revived, she was glad to be alone on her floor. It would give her some time to decompress and process things. But she did wish for a companion.

So the next morning, she directed the windows of the fourth floor of the Training Center, where she was staying, to a horse's stable. She was comforted by the sights of some of her beloved horses, and couldn't wait to ride them again. She decided to spend some time in the game room and lounge on the first floor. There, she met some of the other tributes from her Games, the pair from 6, Janaya and Jason, and the pair from 4, Marina and Sebastian. The four others welcomed her, and they talked for a little while getting to know each other. They asked each other about their ages – all 16, except for 12-year-old Sebastian and 15-year-old Penny – and their home lives from before the Games. Then Penny asked, "What floors are you guys staying at?"

"I'm on the 2nd floor," said Jason.

"The rest of us are on the 3rd floor," said Marina. "Are you on the 4th floor?"

"Yeah," said Penny. "I heard that the floors are based on where we're going by the end of this. So I guess most of you guys are going to the same district."

"That's nice," said Janaya.

"I hope we're going to 4," added Sebastian. "I wanna go home."

Over the course of that afternoon, the five slowly became closer friends, playing games and hanging out. When Penny went back to her floor that night, she felt much more comfortable now that she had friends there.

* * *

 _Date: September 22, HG90_

 _Location: Training Center, The Capitol_

* * *

Penny woke up to the sound of the elevator dinging. She was pretty sure she knew what that meant – a new companion who would be staying on her floor. She hoped it would be someone she would like.

Penny quickly got dressed and headed into the common room. There, she found a tribute that she was sure she would like, sweet little Rue. Penny immediately gave the little one a hug, who shyly returned it.

"I'm sure you have no idea who I am," said Penny gently. "I'm Penny Robins."

"Hi," replied Rue, a little coldly. "I'm Rue."

"I know. Most of us in the Games were really unhappy to see you enter them. But I'm so glad that you're safe now. Are you feeling all right? When did you wake up?"

"I'm feeling fine, just a bit confused. I woke up around 3 this morning, but they kept me downstairs for a bit." Rue was clearly not interested in talking at that point. She was looking around wildly, almost expecting something to come out and get her. Penny decided to leave her alone for a little bit. She went back into her room to do her long auburn hair in her trademark double braids, and then brushed her teeth and washed her face. She then requested a cheese omelet and hash browns and brought the plate it came on back into the common room. She found Rue the same way she was earlier, nervously sitting on the couch. Penny decided to leave her alone, but didn't want to leave her on the floor alone. So she decided to focus on her breakfast, and watched through the window at the horses.

"Rue, do you want anything for breakfast?"

Rue didn't respond, so Penny ordered Rue a waffle and set it on the table. When the two finished eating, Penny said, "Do you want to go to the lounge?"

"OK." Rue followed Penny over to the elevator, and the two rode down to the game room area. When they got there, Rue settled onto a couch, a little exhausted. Penny went over to join the cluster of former tributes from the 3rd floor. Sebastian was missing, but she noticed a new face.

"Penny, this is Hazel from 7. Hazel, this is Penny from 10," Marina said.

"Good to meet you!" Penny bowed her head, as if she was taking off a cowboy hat.

"You as well," said Hazel. The conversation played out much like it had the day before, in the form of standard questions like "How old are you?" (Hazel was 17) and "What do you do at home?"

That is, until they heard the scream.

"NO! NO! NO! DON'T! KATNISS, HELP!" screamed Rue, still sound asleep. All four other girls ran to her side and shook her awake. Her hands were clammy, her lips were dry, and her skin felt a bit warm to the touch.

"Rue, are you OK?" asked Marina.

"No. Don't touch me!" Marina approached Rue, who curled up into a tighter ball, and whimpered a little bit.

The girls looked at each other. "Whose floor is she on?" Hazel asked.

"Mine," replied Penny. Hazel nodded and stepped next to Rue.

"Rue, honey. I know that the Games are hard, and that you're really upset. And that the memories make you unhappy, and that you're scared of people. But if you don't open up to me and Penny and Marina and Janaya, nobody can help you get better and maybe even forget. You're young enough that you can forget and recover. We just need your help to get there."

Rue looked around. Her deep brown eyes first met Hazel's hazel eyes, then Penny's light brown ones, and then Marina's sea-green ones. Rue nodded carefully. "I fell asleep," she began, "and then Marvel was there, with the spear, and I was in the net, and…" Rue burst into tears. "I don't feel like I can trust them."

Hazel scooped the younger girl up and rocked her in her lap. "Shh. It's OK. I feel you. I get you. But you're safe with Penny and with us." Hazel kept Rue in her lap until the little one stopped crying. She was patient, letting Rue cry out everything in her system. When Rue finished, she looked up at Hazel, her deep brown eyes lined with red. "Better?" Hazel asked gently.

"Yeah," said Rue shyly. "Thank you." She then glanced at Penny.

"It's OK, Rue. I get it. These Games are hard. And you lasted the longest of anyone currently alive. I can't even imagine," Penny replied. "Do you want to start on a clean slate?"

Rue nodded. "Hi, my name is Rue."

"I'm Penny." The two shared a cautionary embrace. Penny knew it would take some time for Rue to trust her. But she was willing to take the time to get to know her younger companion.

"Can I have a bit more time to myself?" asked Rue.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready, you can come join us over there."

The older girls left Rue alone for a little bit. "Thank you Hazel," said Penny.

"You're welcome."

"How long will it take for her to heal?"

"I don't know. She'll respond to some people earlier than others, that's for sure."

It surprised Hazel that it only took Rue 30 minutes to rejoin the other girls. She sat in between Penny and Hazel, and didn't really talk, but they kept trying to include her in their conversation. By the second afternoon after Rue was revived, she was finally able to speak for longer in front of the others, and became much more bubbly around the other girls.

That night, when everyone returned to their floors, Rue and Penny saw a little white square hanging on the wall. On it was a big black number 23, with the word "Saturday" on top of it and the word "September" under it.

"What is it?" asked Rue.

"I think it's a calendar. Today is September 23, right?"

"I don't know. You would know that more than I would. I still don't know what time it is." Rue yawned. "I'm kinda tired."

"Let's have dinner first, and then you can go to sleep."

Rue nodded. After a quick meal, Penny tucked Rue under the covers, and the little girl slowly went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Penny woke up again to the ding of the elevator. _Uch_ , she thought. _Why do people always have to come onto our floor in the morning?_ Penny dragged herself out of bed, and as she came to the common room, noticed that Rue's door was still asleep.

But when Penny came out into the common area, and saw Glimmer sitting on a couch, she became really glad that she had woken up before Rue.


	12. Chapter 9: Marriage

**Hi everyone!**

 **This story, I've been really careful about not doing author's notes. But I think now is a good time to bring one in.**

 **First of all, I want to thank you all for being super flexible with the update schedule of this story. I am taking a very intense curriculum at school and so I don't always have the time to write/edit. So I'm trying to do things consistently to the best of my ability, but it's challenging for me.**

 **I haven't begged for reviews yet this story, but I really would like reviews after you've read this chapter, to see what I'm doing well and how I can improve at this point.**

 **Thanks, and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togevah today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam, and wuv, tru wuv will fowwow you fowevah and evah, so tweasure your wuv._

 _-The Impressive Clergyman from The Princess Bride_

* * *

 _Date: September 24, HG90_

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

Katniss went into Tessa's room and turned on the light. "Good morning, Tessa."

"Good morning," Tessa replied. She was a bit groggy, as could be expected.

Katniss sat down on the bunk bed, careful not to hit her head on the top. "OK, so I want to go over the day with you, because it's going to be a bit complicated. Peeta is at the bakery right now putting the finishing touches on the cake – you knew he was a baker, right?"

"I think you told me that once."

"So Posy wanted him to make the cake for the wedding. But that makes things a bit complicated, especially considering how big Posy wants the cake to be, and that Peeta is a wedding guest. So, Peeta is going to finish the cake and bring it to the hall and then change there. That leaves us alone to get ready with the kids."

"Great!"

"Here's how we're going to do this. We're going to try to give them lunch before they get ready, and you can get dressed and do whatever you need while I do that. Once they finish, I'm going to need your help to get them dressed and keep them clean so I can get ready. Got it?"

"Yeah. Are they already up?"

"Yup."

"Cool."

"So, whenever you're ready, come downstairs and we'll hang out until lunchtime."

After Katniss left her room, Tessa got out of bed and got dressed in clothes that she wouldn't necessarily wear out of the house. She then picked out her clothes for the wedding, to make her life easier later. The morning passed regularly – playtime inside and outside, a game of Go Fish or 10, and, as usual, a giant mess. At noon, Katniss called the three for lunch.

Tessa ate quickly and went up to her room. She put on her tights and then an undergarment that she was slightly uncomfortable wearing – a bra. Tessa had only started wearing one recently, as it was Katniss who noticed a need for it, not her parents. She still felt that they were uncomfortable and unnecessary, but she wore it anyway. She then slipped on her dress and carefully zipped it up. Next came the accessories. She slipped on silver sandals, brushed her hair out and put in a teal headband to match the dress. She then looked through her jewelry box and found what she was looking for – a pair of diamond studs and a simple rhinestone necklace.

"Hey Tessa! How close to ready are you?" yelled Katniss up the stairs.

"Almost!" Tessa took a quick glance in the mirror to decide whether or not to wear makeup. She decided against it, and, putting on a black bathrobe, headed downstairs.

"Tessa, where's your dress?" asked Dalia.

"It's under my robe. I just don't want it to get dirty before the wedding starts."

"Good idea."

"Tessa, can you help Dalia get ready, please? I'll get Ken dressed and then we'll take stock of the time."

Tessa took Dalia up to her room. She found that Dalia's outfit had too been laid out, so it was easy for Tessa to help her into her white tights and her dress. It was a light pink, sleeveless dress with a knee-length tulle skirt and a light pink rose on the left side of the waist. Dalia was so short that Tessa had to bend down to zip up the dress. When Dalia turned around, she caught something in Tessa's ears that she had never seen before. "Tessa, why are your ears sparkly?"

"Those are called earrings, Dalia. You can poke holes in your ears and put them in."

"How did you get those?"

"So in District 9, you can start to work when you're ten years old. When that happens, you get the ear of your strong hand pierced, to show that you can work now. Then, when you turn 18 and you start to really work, you get your other ear pierced."

"Oh. How old are you?"

"I'm 13."

"So how do you have both of your ears pierced?"

"When I moved to District 12, I had to get my other ear pierced so I wouldn't look weird."

"But why did you move?"

At that exact moment, Katniss walked into the room, wearing a longer dress to match Dalia's. "Dalia, did we ever decide what we're doing with your hair?"

"No, mommy, we didn't."

"Hmm. Tessa, do you have any ideas?"

"Fishtail braid?"

"Perfect. I'll take care of that and finish getting her ready. Can you make sure that Ken doesn't get his suit dirty?"

"Got it." As Tessa passed Katniss on the way out of the room, she whispered in Katniss's ear, "Thank you. I'll explain later." Katniss looked a bit confused, but she nodded anyway.

It turned out that keeping the suit of a two-year-old boy clean was easier said than done. Tessa took the route of keeping him as far away from the kitchen and the bathroom as possible, and trying to keep him on the couch playing games. Once Dalia was ready, she and her mom came downstairs. "All right everybody, saddle up!" Katniss exclaimed. "We need to get there early for rehearsal." Everybody got into their jackets and walked over to the wedding hall.

Once they got there, they all headed into the room where the ceremony would be held. Tessa took a seat and just watched the proceedings. She saw Katniss catch sight of someone who looked strikingly similar to her, and the two struck up what looked to Tessa as a very awkward conversation. His wife, dressed identically to Katniss, looked strikingly artificial, with gold hair, emerald green eyes, and tanned skin. Tessa noticed a little girl dressed in the same dress as Dalia standing in between her parents. Tessa noticed that the girls had the same bright blue eyes, though the other girl's were accented by wavy brown hair and freckles, not to mention slightly paler skin.

As the rehearsal for the ceremony commenced, an older woman in a simple blue suit sat down next to Tessa. "You must be Tessa," she said warmly. "I want to welcome you to my daughter's family. I'm Katniss's mother. You can call me Flora."

Tessa shook her hand a bit formally. "Hello, Flora."

"I am so happy that you are safe and sound here now. How do you like it here so far?"

"It's really nice, though I haven't seen much of the district so far."

"You should ask my daughter to show you the woods sometime."

"The woods?"

"Yes, the woods. You've probably never seen trees like you'll see there before."

"That's true. I lived right in the middle of District 9, surrounded by wheat stalks, not really trees."

"They go on for miles. Katniss used to go in there to hunt before her Games, and then after the Rebellion, she would go in there with me to calm down, or with her kids to play by a little lake. It kind of makes you happy being there, like you're completely at peace."

"That would be nice." Tessa found her eye gravitating to the couple, still talking to Katniss. "Who are they?" she asked.

Mrs. Everdeen tensed up. "The guy is Gale, one of Katniss's friends when she was a kid. Has she told you about him?" Tessa nodded. "His wife's name is Marigold, I think. Not sure about the daughter, but I know she's about Dalia's age."

"OK." The two struck up a conversation, mostly small talk, but Tessa's eye kept drifting towards Marigold. Something about her made Tessa uncomfortable, though she couldn't put her finger on what.

* * *

After the ceremony, which everyone agreed was gorgeous, and the reception, which everyone agreed was nice, the Everdeens headed home. Katniss put the little kids to bed, and then she, Peeta, and Tessa hung out in the kitchen for a little while.

"So, Peeta, did you hear the news?" Katniss asked.

"No."

"Gale is moving back to 12."

"Really? I thought he said he was never coming back."

"Apparently not," Katniss scoffed. "They'll be moved into the district within the week. And even better, it looks like their daughter is going to be in Dalia's class starting in October."

"I liked their daughter, at least. She has that really cute little "r" lisp. We should introduce Dalia to her before they move in. Maybe they can play after school this week. What's her name?"

"Esther."


	13. Chapter 10: Into the Woods

_Into the woods and down the dell,  
The path is straight I know it well….  
Into the woods, then out of the woods, and home before dark!_

 _-"Prologue: Into the Woods" from Into the Woods_

* * *

Tessa woke up the next morning to a flashing light coming from the outside of her… what was it called… laptop. Right. Laptop! She opened it up to find an electronic letter of some sort from the Capitol. She rubbed her eyes to let herself wake up a bit more, and then opened up the letter.

 _Dear Tessa,_

 _We hope you are doing well in District 12! We would like to notify you of a change that will be occurring next week. On October 1_ _st_ _, which is exactly one week from today, you will begin tutoring._

 _You will be taking four classes with your tutor, though you may study other things if you wish. These four classes are as followed:_

 _Mathematics – based on your level._

 _English – based on your level._

 _Panemian History – This course will begin with the 75_ _th_ _Hunger Games and what happened during and after them up until today. Then, you will cover each Hunger Games, including your own, in reverse chronological order. Finally, you will move into modern external and internal politics._

 _District Studies – This course will focus on each District and the evolution of its industry, and the difference in culture between the Districts._

 _Enclosed in this email are links to placement tests. This will ensure that your English and Mathematics classes are on your level. When you feel awake and comfortable, please make sure to complete the tests, preferably by the end of the day tomorrow. You will be learning with a tutor who will work with you in District 12._

 _Thank you,  
President Paylor._

Tessa was sort of excited to begin school. Anyone would be nervous, but she also liked the tranquility and freedom of not having to worry about homework and tests and quizzes and projects. There was nothing else she could do about it now, though, so she figured she wouldn't stress about it yet.

By the time she got downstairs, she realized that she must have gotten up late, because Dalia had already left for school and Kenneth was very awake. "Good morning, Katniss!"

"Good morning, Tessa. I'm going to go out with Ken to my favorite part of the woods today, if you want to come."

"Sure!" Tessa exclaimed. "When are we leaving?"

"Around noon, so you should make sure to get ready. I'm going to bring a picnic brunchy-lunchy thing. You should probably wear a bathing suit."

At 1 PM, everyone was ready to leave the house. Katniss, Tessa, and Kenneth walked all the way from the Victor's Village to the edge of the district. "Now Ken, what's the rule in the woods?"

"Stay by mommy and don't go too far into the lake."

"Good."

"Floaties?" asked Ken.

"I have them, don't worry. Tessa, if you go into the water, make sure to stay safe, OK? How well can you swim?"

"Moderately well. I'll stay shallow at the beginning."

"Good."

As they got closer to the woods, Tessa started to smell the evergreen trees. She had always seen them from afar, but she'd never been that close to them. They were huge, taller than any wheat stalk she had ever seen. As she got closer and closer to them, their shadow began to cover more and more of the district. They were gorgeous.

Katniss carefully led the kids into the woods. Tessa felt an unusual mix of comfort and fear as she was suddenly overtaken by the trees. There was a beauty in the darkness that the trees created. Tessa was just adjusting to the darkness when she emerged from the trees into a pretty, little-ish dell with a pond in the middle. Katniss set up a picnic blanket near the lake, and then helped Ken put on sunscreen and his floaties. "Go. Swim, little fishie."

"Yay!" Ken ran out into the pond with no fear. Katniss and Tessa chose the more reserved approach, and instead sat down on the side of the pond and dipped their feet in.

"So how did you find this little dell?"

"Well, I used to go hunting in the woods when I was younger. While I was there, I would go to this little meadow to relax and calm down. But after the District was firebombed during the rebellion, that meadow turned into a graveyard for everyone who died. I sometimes take the kids down there, but I don't like to if I can help it. So I wanted to find a happier place for them to play for my sake. One day when Dalia was little, I was exploring the woods and I found this little dell. I had someone check the pond water for me, and it turned out to be safe! So the kids have been swimming there ever since."

"They must be really good swimmers then!"

"Dalia is. Ken is getting there slowly."

"MOMMY! WATCH ME!" exclaimed Kenneth. He ducked under the water for a second and then tried to jump out of it. He didn't really succeed, however, and ended up flailing in the water for a bit. Katniss was fully ready to jump in, but Kenneth managed to get himself back afloat in time. He swam back to the shore of the pond and took a deep breath. "I'm hungry, Mommy!"

"OK, Ken. What do you want?"

Katniss knew exactly what Ken wanted. After a lunch and a little rest, then much more swimming, it was almost time to pick up Dalia.

"So, Tessa, do you like the woods?"

"I think this'll be a good place to study when I start school next week. It's so nice and peaceful; I just want to stay here forever!"

"If you'd like, you can stay here while I pick up Dalia. Just be back at the house by dark, OK?"

"Cool." Katniss left with Ken, and returned to the house to pick up Dalia. Meanwhile, Tessa rested on the side of the lake, watching the ripples caused by throwing little stones into the water, and feeding a little bit of food to the fish.

She noticed that the lake was slowly getting darker, but she thought it was just the sun setting. At least, until she saw a drip, drip, drip in the lake. The sky was nearly black. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. Tessa began to run through the district back to Katniss's house. Luckily for her, she got there just before the skies opened up.

"You good, Tessa?" Katniss asked.

"Well, I got home before dark," she replied.


	14. Chapter 11: A Matter of Trust

" _And some might have learned to adjust,  
But then it never was a matter of trust."_

 _-"A Matter of Trust" by Billy Joel_

* * *

 _Date: September 29, HG90_

 _Location: Training Center: The Capitol_

* * *

It had been just five days since Glimmer had woken up. And things had not gotten less tense on the fourth floor.

Rue was absolutely NOT talking or interacting with Glimmer. Though she wasn't directly killed by Glimmer, she viewed her as an extension of Marvel. And so, Glimmer was not someone she really wanted to be around.

On the other side of Rue's Berlin Wall, Glimmer was just not doing well. It was a bit tough for her trying to erase a negative reputation from the times of the Games, but she was holding on to a string of hope.

The dossiers.

Like all of the other former tributes, Glimmer saw a therapist at least twice a week. One day, as she was going to the therapist's room, she heard President Paylor talking about tribute profiles. Her first thought was to try to break into Paylor's office as stealing them. _I'm a Career!_ she thought. _I can do whatever I want!_ But she came to her senses, and instead ask her therapist to locate her file for her.

And today, she would have that file. All of her school records, medical information, and, most importantly, her bio. The bio that would show Penny and Rue – well, most importantly Rue – who she really was.

Glimmer, granted, wasn't completely isolated. Penny would sometimes spend time with her, though Rue often needed more support than Glimmer would ever need. Marina and Hazel, two of the older tributes, would also interact with Glimmer, though sometimes Marina brought back bad memories of the Career pack. And sometimes, Finch would just sit with her. She and Finch had arrived on the floor on the same day, and Glimmer quickly learned that Finch wasn't much of a talker. Penny was definitely a talker. Rue could be, especially when she was around Marina or Hazel. But Finch was more content sitting and watching the outside, or reading a book. So the two sometimes would sit in silence together, each content to not be talking but happy to have a friend.

Glimmer was honestly looking forward to starting school. She was really interested in history, so she was excited to start taking a lot of historical classes. She was considering adding an ancient language of some sort as well, like Latin. She had asked President Paylor for some colored pens for organization, and a backpack to put her stuff it, preferably a sparkly one.

Suddenly, a little bell dinged. Glimmer left her room and went into the common room, where everyone else had gathered. Through the mail slot had come a manila envelope. Inside of it were four purple folders, labeled Glimmer, Rue, Penny, and Finch.

"Do you know what's in them?" asked Penny. Glimmer shook her head. Each girl took her folder, eyeing each other cautiously, and retreated to a separate corner to read it. Glimmer sat on a little loveseat on the side of the room and opened her folder to find a note and a bunch of pieces of paper. _Glimmer,_ it began, _thank you for your request for your bio. We realized, as you said, that the image portrayed in the Games may not be exactly what your story shows, and so each tribute has received the bios of each other tribute that they will be staying with. Please let us know if you feel more comfortable on your floor after this._

 _Please note that we have withheld all of the medical information and school records from all of the tributes, as that is not important for you, only for those with whom you are staying._

Glimmer skimmed over the rest of the bios. She recognized the names, and actually was surprised by some of the things she learned, like how Tessa's history, though kind of different, was actually not too dissimilar to her own.

After a few moments, Glimmer felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up and, to her surprise, it was Rue. "Did your mommy love you?" she asked.

"My mom was sick and died when I was very young. I don't know if she loved me, because I didn't know her."

"Did your sisters love you?"

"I know that Grace did. We were five years apart, but we spent a lot of time together because Dad would always be with Gemma to train her. Gemma was so many years older than me that by the time I was really old enough to interact with her, she had already won her Games. And you know what that can do to someone."

"Your dad?"

"I don't think Dad truly loved anybody. Certainly not Grace, or he wouldn't have pushed her to play the Games."

"So you grew up with no love from anybody."

"I guess that's right."

Suddenly, Rue sat next to Glimmer on the loveseat. "I don't know if I trust you yet, Glimmer, but at least I can love you. You must have been mean because you didn't feel love." Rue cuddled up next to Glimmer and put her head on Glimmer's breast. Suddenly, a warmth shot through Glimmer that she had never felt before. She couldn't explain it, but it was almost as if she felt a connection to the little girl, and a need to protect her from any and all harm. And though her logic was juvenile, Rue might have been right. At least partly right.

Penny and Finch came over to sit by the loveseat. There was a second of silence, an acknowledgement of each other, before Penny spoke.

"Tell me about the Career pack. Was there a hierarchy?"

"Yes. Without a doubt, yes. The pack was run by Cato and Clove. The two must have trained together, and there was definitely some sort other connection, but I'm not sure whether that connection was romantic or familial. Regardless, they completely controlled the other three of us. Marvel was very clearly the bottom of the pile – his intelligence is on par with a block of wood, but I think Cato and Clove kept him around for 2 reasons. First, he was another muscular player, at least on par with Cato in that regard, so he could do things that Cato would do, but would be more dangerous and would be more likely to kill someone.

"Marina and I were kind of in the middle. I didn't always have the same motivation to really compete, and Marina was always really upset about Sebastian, the guy from her district. He was small, only 12 years old, and clearly not a Career. When Clove murdered him, I think it broke and annoyed Marina. After all, he was sitting with us during training.

"Cato and Clove really frustrated us. They would make all of the decisions without Marina or my input (not that they really needed Marvel's input – like I said, he's basically a block of wood) and were one hundred percent willing to sacrifice either of us two for their safety. Remember the tracker jackers, Rue? And remember how Marina and I died from them? Yeah."

"Could you and Marina have revolted?" asked Penny.

"It wouldn't have worked very well, I don't think. I think we all knew that, at some point, we were going to have to turn on each other, but at the same time, we really needed each other to get to that point. Plus, Cato is much stronger than either of us. He could have snapped both of our necks if we had tried to take over. I guess we never really trusted each other, but at the same time, we couldn't have functioned without each other."

Rue suddenly sat up and looked around, searching for something. "I'm hungry," she said. "Is it almost time for dinner?"

"We can eat soon if you'd like, Rue," said Penny.

That night at dinner was the least amount of tension Glimmer had felt on her floor since she came. She knew she didn't fully have everyone's trust. But she was certainly closer than she'd been so far.


	15. Chapter 12: The New Girl in Town

" _The new girl in town, who just came on the scene.  
The new girl in town, can't be more than sixteen."_

 _-"The New Girl in Town" from Hairspray_

* * *

 _Date: October 2, HG90_

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

"Dalia, honey, wake up for school! I have a special project for you today," said Katniss, carefully rubbing her daughter's back to wake her up.

Dalia stretched in bed and sat up. "A special project?" she said.

"Yeah. Tessa has her first day of school today. I need you to go and wake her up for me. Can you do that?"

"Yep." Dalia's eyes shone with the mischievous glint that can only be found in the eyes of a 5-year-old. She leaped out of bed and ran across the hall into Tessa's room, shaking her big friend awake. "Tessa, Mommy says you're starting school today!"

Tessa turned over in her bed, then turned back over and opened her eyes. "Good morning, Dalia."

"What time are you starting school?"

"Not sure, honestly. But definitely after you leave."

"Aww. I wanna meet your teacher!"

"I'll tell you about her when I get home."

Dalia scampered back to her room to get ready. Like every morning, the last thing she needed to do to get ready was pack her backpack with her mom. "Tessa, you got a minute?" yelled Katniss.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Let me show you how to pack Dalia's bag so you can start doing that part in the mornings with her. Dalia doesn't need too much for kindergarten, but we need to make sure that her pink notebook and folder are both in the bag. The pink one is her homework folder, so you just have to double check it to make sure all of the worksheets are filled out and all of that; they don't usually get anything extra. Then, we put together her lunch – a sandwich, an apple, some carrots, and a cookie. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." Katniss checked her watch. "Right on time, Dalia. You ready for school?"

"Yep!" Dalia hugged Katniss and Tessa and ran outside to the meeting place. As usual, she looked for her little clump of friends, Max, Bella, Timothy, and Finch. She was surprised to find another girl in the clump today, and one who looked oddly familiar at that.

"Dalia, do you remember my cousin Esther from the wedding?"

"Kind of. Wasn't she the other flower girl?"

"Yes, I was. Hello," said Esther.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you!"

"Esther is going to be in our class," explained Max.

"Is she at our table?" Dalia asked.

"I don't know. I think we might be switching tables today, actually."

Max was totally right. When they got to school, they found a whole new setup of tables in their room – 5 tables of four, and 2 tables of three.

"OK, class," began Mrs. Anderson. "Let's begin today with circle time. Everybody sit around the mat." The kids obliged. "We have a new student in our class. I want to introduce you to Esther."

"Hi, Esther," chorused the kids. Esther bowed her head and waved shyly.

"As you know, this means that we are going to rearrange tables. We'll take care of that at snack time, though. I want to start with story time today. Whose turn is it?"

"My turn!" exclaimed Veronica. "Can I stand up to tell my story?" she asked.

"I don't see why not."

Veronica took a deep breath. "So this story is from a musical called Matilda, and my sister, Valerie, is performing in it as Matilda in the Capitol right now before it tours the districts next year. 'Cept I changed it around a bit to make it shorter and give it a better ending.

"ONCE UPON A TIME… the two greatest circus performers in the world – an escape artist who could escape from any lock that was ever invented, and an acrobat who was so skilled it seemed as if she could actually fly – fell in love, and got married. They moved into a beautiful old house at the edge of town, and each night, the children of the town would wait in anticipation, hoping for a glimpse of the shiny white scarf that the acrobat always wore, for then they knew that they only had to cry, 'Tricks! Tricks!' and the great performers would instantly oblige with the most spectacular show, just for them!"

The kids were transfixed by Veronica's storytelling. As she told her story, she turned around, more expressive than any other storyteller in the class before her had been. She had the makings of a phenomenal actress.

"But although they loved each other, they were sad, because they did not have a child. 'Patience, my love,' the husband told his wife. 'Time is on our side. Even time loves us.' But time is the one thing no one is master of. And as time passed, and they still had no child, growing older still, they were drawn into ever more dangerous feats in their work. And so it was, they decided to perform the most dangerous feat ever known to man! 'It is called,' said the husband, announcing the event to the world's press, who had gathered to listen with bated breath, 'THE BURNING WOMAN, HURLING THORUGH THE AIR, WITH DYNAMITE IN HER HAIR, OVER SHARP AND SPIKY OBJECTS, CAUGHT BY THE MAN LOCKED IN A CAGE, AND IT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS FEAT EVER KNOWN TO MAN!'"

"And so, the day of the trick arrived! It was like the entire world had gathered to see their feat. Suddenly, out came the escape artist. 'LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,' he announced, loudly enough so the whole crowd could hear him, 'THE BURNING WOMAN HURLING THROUGH THE AIR, WITH DYNAMITE IN HER HAIR, OVER SHARP AND SPIKY OBJECTS, CAUGHT BY THE MAN LOCKED IN A CAGE HAS BEEN… CANCELLED!'

"The crowd fell silent. 'CANCELLED,' continued the escape artist, 'BECAUSE MY WIFE IS…PREGNANT!'

"Suddenly, the audience jumped to its feet and cheered and clapped. And so, the trick was forgotten. The acrobat and the escape artist had a daughter, and they raised her with all of the love and affection that they could offer her. The end."

The class applauded. "Very nice story, Veronica. How much did you change the story?"

"Quite a bit."

"Maybe your sister can tell us the real story sometime."

"It's really quite sad. I don't think it would be good for her to tell us."

"OK," laughed Mrs. Anderson. "Now, as you could tell, we have a new table setup today! Last time, each table was a different fish. Today, each table is going to be a different color. Please wait to talk or move until I've read out all of the tables, and they you guys can go sit.

"The pink table is Annie, Talia, and Ashton P. The red table is Travis, Connor, Gavin, and Ashley. The orange table is Finch, Max, Matilda, and Veronica. The yellow table is Dalia, Bella, Esther, and Timothy. The green table is Tess, Liam, Magnus, and Ashton L. The blue table is Lucille, Sophie, Cooper, and Clyde. And, last but not least, the purple table is Aiden, Iris, and Bentley. Did anybody not hear their name? Good. You guys can go to your new tables and sit down for snack."

"Ooh, the table is actually yellow," observed Dalia. "That's cool!"

"I like that it's a circle," added Timothy. "We can all see the teacher equally this way."

"Esther, did you meet Timothy yet?" asked Dalia. Esther nodded and waved again.

"Hi Esther. It's good to meet you!"

Dalia was, admittedly, a little confused. This was the second time she'd seen Esther, and yet she'd never heard her say a word. She wondered if Esther was able to talk.


	16. Chapter 13: It's Great to Learn

" _As your body grows bigger  
Your mind must flower  
It's great to learn,  
Cause knowledge is power!"_

 _-Theme Song from Schoolhouse Rock!_

* * *

 _Date: October 2, HG90_

 _Location: Training Center, The Capitol_

* * *

"Good morning, Rue! Time to get up for your first day of school!"

Rue rubbed her eyes and stretched before sitting up. "Good morning!"

It had become a little custom for Penny to wake Rue up every morning. Rue liked the comfort of having the same person wake her up every day, like her mother used to, and Penny enjoyed spending more time with her little friend. The two were almost becoming like sisters, which made Penny happy – she'd never had a sister before.

"It's weird to be sleeping so late on a school morning," mused Penny to herself as Rue got out of bed. "Back home in 10, we would have to be at school at 8. Here, we don't need to be ready until 9:30!"

"Will we have an actual classroom," asked Rue as she went to pick out her outfit for the day, "or are we doing it up here?"

"I hope it's an actual classroom. I think it's easier to focus in a room dedicated to learning, ya know?"

"You're right."

"I'll leave you alone to get ready now, Rue. See you in a bit!"

As Penny walked back to her room, she noticed that she felt different than she had on any other first day of school. She had no desire to impress anybody when she got there, or present an unnatural image of herself; after all, she already knew and was at least sort of friendly with everyone she'd be in class with. and as a result, she realized, she had no butterflies or pit in her stomach. Penny had never felt this relaxed going into anything new. Ever.

Penny finished getting ready for school by braiding her hair into two long braids, and then went out into the common room for breakfast. When she got there, she found four backpacks, one silver, one orange, one pink, and one brown. Glimmer was already at the table.

"How do we know whose backpack is whose?"

"They each have a little mint green tag with our tribute ID number on it. Mine's the silver one," Glimmer finished proudly.

"It is nice and shiny," Penny admitted. _I hope she doesn't blind anyone with it._ Penny checked the tags on them, and found that her backpack was the pink one. "Think Finch's is orange?" she asked Glimmer.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

Penny ordered bacon and eggs for breakfast before opening her bag to see what was in it. She found a pencil case, a binder with paper in it, a notebook, and a little metal box of some sort. "What is it?" she asked Glimmer.

"It's called a laptop. It's a computer that you can carry around with you. It's cool!"

"Nice."

By 9:30 AM, everyone had eaten breakfast, had their backpacks on, and was ready to head down to the classroom. Looking at the group of four girls, one would never have guessed that they were all in the same class – even though only three years separated the oldest from the youngest, Rue really looked younger than the other girls. Her brown backpack seemed to be as big as her!

When Penny, Rue, Glimmer, and Finch arrived in the lounge, they met the other tributes who were awake: Techno from 3, Sebastian and Marina from 4, Janaya and Jason from 6, and Ash and Hazel from 7. They also met President Paylor there.

"Hello everyone," Paylor said, "and welcome to your first day of school! We're really excited for you all to begin. You will be having classes on the floor below this one, which has been transferred into a small schoolhouse.

"You will be split up into four general classes, based on where you'll be going when you leave here. In Room 1 are the older girls, Marina and Janaya, as well as Sebastian, who will be going to District 4, as it is his home district. In Room 2 are the older boys, Jason and Ash, as well as Hazel, who will be going to District 7, as it is her home district. In Room 3 are the younger boys, which for now means only Techno, and in Room 4 are the younger girls, Penny, Finch, Rue, and Glimmer, as well as Tessa, who will video-call in from 12. Are there any questions?"

Janaya raised her hand. "Jason and I are going back to 6 together after this, right? What are we going to do?"

"It will depend on where you are in your studies, both in general and in relation to each other in all subjects. Most likely, you will end up with two separate tutors. Anything else? Good. Please proceed to your classrooms, and have fun!"

When they entered the classroom, Rue found a room unlike any classroom she'd ever seen before. The walls were a pretty turquoise color, with a chalkboard and a whiteboard, and a projector-type contraption in between them. Instead of regular rectangular desks, there were two large curved tables, each about the size of a quarter of a circle. In between the tables was a stand with a laptop facing the front.

"Does anybody have a preference for where they sit?" asked Rue. "Because I need to be sitting facing the front as opposed to at an angle."

"Will it be annoying for you to sit next to the computer?"

"No, I don't think so."

Rue determinedly put her stuff down to the left of the computer. Penny sat to Rue's left, and Glimmer and Finch sat at the other table. The four girls waited and chatted a bit until the computer made a blipping noise, and Tessa's face appeared.

"Hey, Tessa!" exclaimed Penny. "How ya doing?"

"I'm good," she replied. "I'm looking forward to some other people my age coming to join me, though. I think my IQ has gone down a bit being around kindergarteners all the time. Not that I don't love them, but I need someone that talks a little bit more intelligently."

"There are kids where you're staying?"

"Yeah. I'm staying with Katniss, and she has a five-year-old and a two-year-old. I haven't met any of the other teens in the district, but I also don't go to school. For that matter, I don't know how many teens there actually are."

Suddenly, a very tall woman with a very youthful face came in. "Good morning, girls! Why don't you take your seats and we'll get started. I don't care whether you use your laptop for notes or if you hand-write it, or if you take notes at all, because we're recording this lesson anyway. But please get anything you'd like to use out now before we begin.

"So, hi everyone! My name is Amaryllis Lealy, and I will be your tutor. I'm going to start by explaining the general schedule of your days, and then we'll get started.

"We are going to be having all of our classes together in the morning, which will focus on things that are not really based on your ability level; namely, District Studies and History of Panem. Then you'll break for lunch, and afterwards will be your English and Math classes. Starting after the Winter Holiday, you'll be able to add extra classes to your schedules in subjects you're interested in, like science or other types of history, or even languages. Once you return to District 12, and eventually settle down, you'll continue to be tutored by me and your other tutors, either in person or by videocall. We're not going to have tests in our classes together – we just want you guys to learn. Any questions?"

The girls nodded, but remained quiet.

"Great. Now, let's get started with District Studies! In this class, we're going to focus on the development of the industries of the districts, first during the Games, then the little differences from before the Games, and then after the Games. We're going in this order because a few of you mentioned wanting to learn about the Career academies in your placement emails, so we're going to start with essentially that. But before we do, I want to talk about the districts in general." Amaryllis looked at the projector contraption hanging on the wall. "Are any of you from Three, Five or Six?" she asked. Finch raised her hand. "Good. Maybe you can figure out this facacta* SmartBoard. I'm from 11 originally, so I have no idea how to handle this even though they tried to train me to do it."

Finch looked at the projector. She thought for a second, and then saw the solution to all of her problems. "Amaryllis, that gray button over there is the power button. All you have to do is press it."

"Oh." Amaryllis felt a bit uncomfortable. "Thank you…Finch?"

"Yep, that's my name."

"I got your names and pictures from President Paylor and tried to learn all of your names before we started, but I'm not great with names, even though there are only five of you. Anyway. Is the SmartBoard powered on? Good." A map of Panem had appeared on the screen, each district outlined in black and filled in with a forest green, except for the Capitol, which was silver. "So, let's get started. Do you guys remember the industries of all of the districts?" Everyone nodded. "I want to write them down quickly, so that we can see what we're looking at. So let's test your memories rapid-fire style. I'll ask you for a District, and you'll give me their industry. District One, Glimmer?" she said, turning around to write on the whiteboard.

"Luxury items."

"Two, Penny?"

"Masonry and weapons."

"Three, Tessa."

"Technology."

"Four, Rue?."

"Fishing."

"Five, Finch."

"Power."

"Six, Penny?"

"Transportation."

"Seven, Glimmer?"

"Lumber."

"Eight, Rue?"

"Textiles."

"Nine, Tessa?"

"Grain."

"Ten, Penny?"

"Livestock."

"Eleven, Rue."

"Agriculture."

"And Finch, 12."

"Mining."

"Good job! Now, let's look at the list we made. When the Capitol was looking at the Districts after they were formed, they decided to group them into groups of three, and each of those would get a head governor, who would oversee all of the individual District governors and officials, whether they came from the Capitol or that District. So let's try to see if we can mimic what the Capitol did. If you had to divide these twelve Districts into groups of three, how would you do that?"

The girls stayed silent, studying the board for a moment. Finch raised her hand first. Amaryllis nodded to her. "I think it makes sense to put together Nine, Ten, and Eleven."

"Exactly right. These were the Agriculture Districts, from which the majority of Panem's food supply came." Amaryllis pressed down on the outlines of those Districts on the SmartBoard, filling each of them in with a beige color. "What else? Glimmer?"

"I'd put together Districts Three, Five, and Six. They seem to handle all of the techy stuff that most other people can't."

"Good. Those three Districts were the Technology Districts, and because of the difficulty level of their industries, were almost always overseen by people of their own Districts." She filled those districts in with a bright yellow. "Penny?"

"None of the others seem to make sense. I guess you could put together One, Two, and Four as Career Districts, but that wouldn't make sense in a pre-Games society."

"You're right, Penny. The first two groupings we discussed make a lot of sense, and those existed very early on in Panem. The other six Districts generally didn't interact with any others in that way, and they were often looked after individually because they didn't fit with the other Districts. Once the Academies popped up in One, Two, and Four, the Capitol decided to group them together to try to modulate the amount of information getting out to the other Districts about the Academies." Amaryllis turned the shapes of those districts to red blotches.

"So why are Seven, Eight, and Twelve grouped together?" asked Tessa, noticing the only three districts left in green.

"They wanted to give every District a group, and there were only three left. OK. So we're going to start by focusing on the three Career districts, primarily their Academies, and then move on to each of their individual industries. Glimmer, you're from One, correct?"

"Yep."

"So I think it's best if you tell us about the Academy there."

"Sure. So our Academy was separate from our school. We went from three to seven in the afternoon, and have large classes divided more or less by strength and level. Some of the students seen as potential volunteers got individualized time, but not usually. About 75 percent of kids in One went to the Academy, but only about 75 percent of the students there were interested in volunteering – some went to learn self-defense, because they lived in or near the Alley, the most dangerous and poor section of the district, and the place where the other 25 percent of the kids in One lived. In Two, they had a whole volunteer system; we just had a volunteer list, and anybody from that list is considered a worthy volunteer. It was a pretty common rumor that the students higher up on the list were the better ones, but nobody knew for sure. It would certainly explain why Blaze was on the bottom of the list that one year, and why it's not always in age order, but anyway…"

"We're going to come back to Blaze later on. Thank you, Glimmer!"

"No problem."

"Now, on to District Two. As I'm sure you can all guess, District Two had a significantly more organized Career academy than that of District One. Each person was required to enter the Academy, as it was both their center for training and education. Each day supposedly had four hours of schooling and at least four hours of training, depending on the age and skill of the student. Each child in the Academy was analyzed based on their potential every September. Classes in different disciplines were happening at all times during the day, and students viewed to have a greater chance of winning would often have private lessons at certain points during the week, especially on weekends.

"One month before the reaping, all potential volunteers were analyzed and tested, which would lead to the creation of a list. One primary volunteer was selected, who would be on the hook to volunteer before the name was read under any circumstances. If that person did not volunteer, there were five selected secondary volunteers, and 25 people on what was called the reaping list. The five secondary volunteers were required to race for the stage to volunteer after the name was read, though they weren't required to if someone from the reaping list was reaped. Are you guys still with me?"

Everybody was, but nobody more than Rue. She was fixated on her tutor, and hung on to her every word, eagerly awaiting the next one.

"Good. District Four's Academy is a little different, because they did not always have any way to select volunteers. We'll talk about this more when we go in-depth on Four, but in the district, it is traditional for the eldest son and eldest daughter to take on the trade of their father and mother, respectively. Only in the event that all of the children are one gender will a child learn the trade of the parent of the opposite gender. The younger children are allowed to choose what they would like to do, and some of them choose to train for the Games. For this reason, some years had a large crop of kids in the Career Academy there, and there were sometimes stretches where there were no strong students for four or five years. Classes there were often bigger and with a wider variety of levels because of the fact that there were so many fewer students.

"I think I'm tiring you guys out from all of this learning, so let's take a little break. Be back here by 11 for our first History of Panem class, OK?"

The girls nodded. Glimmer and Finch went outside to get snacks or a drink, but Penny and Rue stayed in the room.

"What did you think, little one?" asked Penny.

"I really enjoyed it. Can you do me a favor and write down for me what's on the board?"

"Of course. Do you want it on the computer or on paper?"

"I don't care," Rue replied candidly. "I don't know how to read or write. I've never been to school before.

* * *

*facacta – a Yiddush word meaning lousy or ridiculous


	17. Chapter 14: Blood in the Water

**Hey friends! Quick note before we begin today's chapter.**

 **First of all, I'm sorry that last chapter took so long. See, I brought my notes for the story on my summer program with me, because I was hoping to write. I did – but then lost my notes. Yay. As in all of my notes, which were not digitized in any way. Yes, this is my fault, and I understand that. The good thing is that all of my notes for this story were based off of my chapters from the original version of the story, so I was able to transfer a lot of it over, but I lost some momentum in the process. So that's been great**

 **Secondly, I want to let you know about a cool new partnership I'm in! There's an AMAZING author named Tracee who has been doing a story about the first 500 years of Hunger Games. She is doing so much with that story and I thought it was so cool, so I reached out to her, and I'm going to be using her story as a textbook for History of Panem in this story! Our plots will diverge in certain places, but it'll work for the most part. Check her story out here: s/11969298/1/500-Years-of-Penance. Her story ID is 11969298, if the link doesn't work.**

 **On with the rest of the story!**

 **-goldie031**

* * *

" _Our topic is blood in the water  
Kids, it's time ya faced."_

 _-Blood in the Water from Legally Blonde_

* * *

 _Date: October 6_

 _Location: Training Center, The Capitol_

* * *

"After a tumultuous two years, during which the government debated many separate options, the decision was finally made on the structure of the Hunger Games that we recognize today. Nobody knew at that point, however, exactly what they would become was unknown.

"Alright. Heavy lesson today. How much time do we have until lunch, Rue?"

"About 2 minutes," replied Rue.

"Cool. So next week we're going to begin going through the Games consecutively, from the First through the Seventy-Fourth. In order to do that, though, we're going to need some help." Amaryllis took out a stack of books from under the computer cart. "These textbooks are the most complete records of the Games that exist. They're by an author named Tanaquil Rumlatt, and he has been extremely thorough at cataloging every aspect of the Games. We're going to use his book as our primary source, as issued by President Paylor, and we'll be using some other books as well. You've each been assigned a book, but I believe you'll be allowed to keep it, so feel free to highlight or whatever in it. When I call your name, please come grab the book. Penny. Rue. Finch. Glimmer. Tessa."

"Amaryllis, that's going to be a bit of a problem," Tessa quipped.

"We'll get it to you, don't worry." Amaryllis checked a piece of paper quickly before placing it in the folder. "Great. You guys are dismissed for lunch. Make sure to meet up with your tutors at 1 for your afternoon sessions. Great work this week!"

The four girls went back up to the fourth floor. "Finch, do you mind placing lunch orders today?" asked Glimmer. As the oldest on the floor, the girls had agreed that this would be Glimmer's job every day, and Glimmer really didn't seem to mind originally. But while Finch would not normally have any problem with a simple request, and she didn't mind taking on a bit of extra responsibility for one day, something seemed off to her in Glimmer's tone of voice.

"Why?"

"No reason." Glimmer said, turning around and quickly walking away to her room. Finch quickly placed the lunch orders and followed her. She found Glimmer lying face-down on her bed; Finch sat at her feet and rubbed her back. Penny, sensing that something was off, followed Finch and stood at the door, leaning on its post to listen in on the conversation.

"Glimmer, you've got to tell me what's wrong so I can help you."

"No! It's embarrassing. I don't know you that well yet."

Glimmer…" Finch said, using a voice that she'd only ever heard her mother use.

"Fine," Glimmer scoffed. "I haven't gotten my period yet."

"What?!" exclaimed Penny.

"I haven't gotten my period, OK? It should have come two days ago. It has never, ever been late, since the first time I got it. And it shouldn't be late now."

Penny scoffed in the corner. "That's such a trivial problem," she muttered. Finch turned around to give Penny a look. Penny put her hands up and backed up a step.

"Why are you freaking out about this so much? Wouldn't it be natural for you not to get it?"

"No. It comes on the third of every month like clockwork. If I'm not getting it, something is definitely wrong."

"Glimmer, honey, something is wrong. You just went through a competition in which you died, and then your body lay dormant for 10 years. It's going to take a while for it to get back in sync."

"But what if something is wrong?"

"Would it make you feel better to see a gynecologist?"

Glimmer nodded. "Probably."

"So let's make a deal. We'll see how things go between now and when we return to District 12. If, after a full four weeks, you're still super worried, we can get you to a gynecologist. OK?"

"OK."

"Good. Now, you have 40 minutes until you need to meet your tutor. Make sure you're ready."

* * *

Dalia came skipping down the lane from school to meet Tessa at the meeting place. She initially looked a little concerned that her mother wasn't there, but quickly brightened up and ran up to give Tessa a big hug.

"Hi Dalia! How was your day?"

"Good! Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy's not feeling well. It's hard to be pregnant. So I'm gonna take you home for her."

"Can Esther come home with us? Home is RIGHT THERE."

"I think we need to ask Mommy first."

"Ok, I'll go tell Esther." Dalia scampered off to tell her friend, then returned to Tessa. "Her mommy said that, if my mommy says it's OK, then it's OK with her."

"Cool. I'll take you up to Mommy's room to ask." Tessa walked Dalia into the house and then up to Katniss's room. She gingerly knocked on the door.

"Come in," Katniss moaned.

"Katniss, I have Dalia. She has a question for you."

"Let her come in." Dalia ran into the room and cuddled up by her mom's side. "Hi babygirl! How was your day?"

"Good. Can Esther come over to play?"

"Tessa, can you monitor the girls? Make sure they don't kill each other?"

"Sure, Katniss."

"OK, then. Dalia, you can have Esther over to play. Just so you know, Ken is playing in his room, so I think he'll be OK over there, but keep an ear out for that too."

"OK. Feel better, Katniss." Tessa carefully escorted Dalia out of the room. "Let's go talk to Esther and her mom."

Tessa and Dalia went back outside. Dalia waved to Esther, and she and her mother came over.

"Hi, darling. Marigold Hawthorne," said Esther's mother, extending a heavily manicured hand to the younger girl. Tessa cringed from the sound of her voice – it sounded as sugary as the syrup that topped the snow-cones that the kids in the district used to get to celebrate after the Reaping was over. She looked artificial from afar, but even more so up close – her gold hair was golder, her emerald eyes were much brighter, and her skin looked more orange than tan.

"Tessa Stalk. Don't worry – your daughter is safe in my hands."

"I wasn't in the least bit worried. I'll be back to pick her up in about two hours. Bye, honey pumpkin!" Marigold gave her daughter a kiss on the head and left.

"Come on inside, girls. Oh, Esther, your face is bleeding! Let me take care of it for you."

Tessa escorted the girls inside and led Esther into the first floor bathroom. She carefully used a wet rag to clean off Esther's face, occasionally having to squeeze the blood-soaked rage out into the sink. The little girl kept wincing as the water touched her skin, and Tessa noticed a kind of deep cut on her face. She couldn't help but get the feeling that something wasn't right.


	18. Chapter 15: Autumn Leaves

" _The falling leaves drift by the window  
The autumn leaves of red and gold."_

 _-"Autumn Leaves" by Nat King Cole_

* * *

 _Date: October 8_

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

"Peeta," called Katniss, "I'm going into the woods with the kids and Tessa. Can you handle dinner? We're hosting tonight."

"Got it. I cooked most of it yesterday. By the way, how was your appointment?"

"It was good. We set an induction date for the triplets – February 20 is the latest they're letting me go. But, they want me on bedrest starting around New Year's to be safe, so that'll be fun."

"At least we have Tessa to help out," mused Peeta as he began to defrost a package of chicken breasts.

"True. I also have an envelope with the genders. Mom said she could only find two, but one of those was of the twins, so she's pretty sure she has all three. Do you want to open it?"

"I think we need to. It'll be a disservice to ourselves not to – we need to make sure that we have the right space and names for all of them."

"Let's do that when I get home," said Katniss. "Dalia, Ken, Tessa, come on!" The two younger kids raced out of the playroom, followed by Tessa, who was perfectly content just walking behind them. "Let's head out."

Katniss and Tessa followed the two younger kids as they frolicked along the familiar path to the woods.

"Are the trees going to be in pretty colors, Katniss?" asked Tessa.

"I don't know," replied Katniss. "They turn at different times every year. Why?"

"I've never seen trees turn colors before. We lived right in the middle of the district, and there were no trees around me ever, only grain fields."

"Wow." Katniss was stunned. "I don't know if the trees will be turned by now, but I'll make sure you get to see them. There's one tree that Dalia really likes. Hey Dalia," Katniss called ahead. "Do you know where your favorite fall tree is?"

"Of course!" Dalia exclaimed. "I don't know if it's pretty yet, but I know where it is."

"Do you want to show it to Tessa?"

"Yep! Follow me, everybody!" Dalia bounded off down the path, with a clear direction in mind. Katniss grabbed Kenneth's hand and kept her eye on Dalia as she scampered off.

"Dalia especially loves that tree because there aren't really any other trees around it, so you can really see the colors."

"How'd you find it?" nudged Tessa.

"Well," began Katniss, "I took her on a walk in the woods the first fall after she was born, and we came upon this tree by chance. It had these huge, gorgeous, fire-orange leaves. Dalia wouldn't stop looking at it, and when I tried to take her away from it and keep walking, she started crying. I had to wait until she fell asleep. We went back a few times that fall, but we stopped after the leaves fell. The next fall, she could already walk, and we went for a walk together in the woods. She made a beeline for the tree. She somehow knew exactly how to go just by instinct, and she's never lost it."

Katniss and Tessa kept walking behind Dalia as she carefully navigated the path ahead of her , deftly weaving in between the trees to get to her goal. They passed trees with their natural green hair, and trees with hair dyed red and orange, deep purple and bright yellow. When they got to Dalia's tree, however, they found that the tips of the leaves were just turning orange. "Mommy, it hasn't turned yet!"

"That's OK, Dalia. It'll turn soon. Maybe we can go looking for other trees," Katniss suggested.

"I need a rest first. I'm tired."

Suddenly, Katniss caught sight of a family of 7 coming towards them with shovels and saplings. "Oh no," muttered Katniss. "Dalia's going to be really unhappy if they dig up that tree."

"Dalia!" yelled one of the little boys, running over to the little girl.

"Oh, hi, Timothy! What are you doing here?"

"We're planting our saplings! They finally came in!"

"Oh, that's exciting!"

Timothy's mother came over to Katniss. She asked her, "Is it OK with you if we plant our saplings here, Mrs. Everdeen?"

For a moment, Katniss didn't understand why this woman knew her name. Then she remembered that everyone knew her name. "This isn't my tree, but sure! You have to tell me about these saplings first, though. Your son seems really excited about them, Mrs..."

"Woodson. Call me Hazel," began Timothy's mother, shaking Katniss's outstretched hand. "These saplings are actually a part of a custom in District 7, where my family is from. Most of the children in District 7 are named after trees - usually as their middle name like ours are, but not always - because a tree is planted for each child in the district. There's a special grove for all of those trees. My daughter born in 7, as were my husband's quadruplets, but we made the choice to move to District 12 shortly after we planted their trees last March. We wanted to bring the trees over, but they weren't ready yet. So we had to wait until they felt the trees were ready to transport over here. And now they're here! You can stay to watch, if you'd like."

"That's so exciting! Of course I'll watch."

"Honey!" called Timothy's father to his wife. "I found a good place to plant Talia's willow tree. There's a lake right here, and there will be enough room near it and over here to plant the other four as well."

"Great! Let's get started." Hazel and her husband began to carefully dig holes in the ground to plant the trees, one for each of their children, as Dalia and Kenneth played with the 5 Woodson kids. Katniss and Tessa watched as they methodically measured the roots of each tree and the amount they would have to dig out of the ground for the trees to live. Once all the holes were ready, Mr. and Mrs. Woodson called over the kids, and all 7 stood in a circle. Katniss and Tessa watched in earnest as the planting began.

"It is today that we formally move to District 12, with the hope that we will become as entrenched in the community of this district as the roots of our trees will be in the ground. It is our wish that our children will grow and shoot for the sky just as the branches of these trees will soar. We welcome to our new home our willow tree for Talia Willow Woodson, our aspen tree for Timothy Aspen Woodson, our oak tree for Travis Oak Woodson, our magnolia tree for Tess Magnolia Woodson, and our elm tree for Matilda Elmina Woodson." As Mr. Woodson pronounced the name of each of his children, he placed their tree into its hole. "Please help these trees to flourish just like our children, and may they someday use the wood of this tree to build their home.

"Amen."

* * *

After playing in the forest for a little while longer, Katniss invited the Woodsons over to her house. While the kids played in the backyard under the supervision of Peeta and Mr. Woodson, Katniss and Hazel sat in the kitchen with Tessa and chatted over cups of coffee.

"So how did you find your way from Seven to here in Twelve?" inquired Katniss.

Hazel replied, "We just moved here in June. My husband and I got married in January, and we decided we needed a change of scenery."

"So the kids were born before you got married?"

"Yeah. So his wife died in childbirth with the quads, and my Tilly was born a few months before them. That was five years ago now."

"Is your husband still alive?" interjected Tessa.

"I was never married. I got pregnant with Tilly when I was 23 after a really fun night out at the bar."

"Oh."

Hazel took another sip of her coffee. "It took us each a while after the kids were born to figure out what to do. We finally met through some mutual friends. It took about a year from when we met to get engaged, but only a few months after that until we married."

A slightly awkward pause followed. Tessa got up to make herself a cup of hot chocolate.

"Has it been hard for you since the Games?" asked Hazel.

"I mean, yeah, in a way. Therapy has been great for me – I really feel a lot more with it than I did before. But I don't know what I'm going to do once the kids know about… everything."

"You have some time."

"I know."

Katniss and Hazel continued talking, learning about their siblings, their family lives, their friends from growing up, and the things they loved and disliked. After a while, Katniss realized that she had found something in Hazel that she'd never really had before – a true female friend around her age.

* * *

After the Woodsons left, Katniss and Peeta sat down on the couch and held on to the envelope containing the genders of their children. Peeta gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips. "Any guesses, honey?"

"As long as they're healthy and happy, I don't care."

The star-crossed lovers each slid one finger under the seal of the envelope. "One, two three," counted Katniss, before breaking the seal and pulling out the ultrasound pictures inside. The two studied the images carefully. "A boy and two girls, Peeta," Katniss gushed. "A boy and two girls."


	19. Chapter 16: Our Little World

" _Something we can share, hair!  
Our little world is perfect…"_

 _-"Our Little World" from Into the Woods_

* * *

 _Date: October 11_

 _Location: Training Center, The Capitol_

* * *

It was only a matter of time before the girls would go to Twelve. At least, that's what they were telling each other. After all, everybody was awake by this point. Well, almost everybody.

The girls on the fourth floor knew that they were only waiting for Savannah Mouron from 8, and they would be able to return to 12 a week later. But they gathered from President Paylor's constant tension that something wasn't right. So they assumed that they would be staying in the Capitol for a little while longer.

And Glimmer was getting a bit bored.

She had always had a bit of cabin fever back in District 1, but back then she was able to go wherever, whenever she wanted. Now, not so much, for her safety and protection. And though she appreciated that protection, she had been wanting something else to do for a few days. Then she started playing with her hair.

Glimmer realized after a little while that she was actually pretty good at braiding it, and decided that she wanted to learn how to do more complex braids. She started on her hair, then moved to Penny's long auburn locks, and then to Finch's shorter red hair. She wanted to try on one other person before tackling Rue's short mush of curls. Luckily for her, the perfect test subject woke up.

Gidget Ramon, the 74th Games' female from Three, was a short, petite, and underweight girl who always wore her thick, wavy brown hair in a long braid down the center of her back. Gidget was mostly passive and very logical, so she didn't mind Glimmer fiddling with her hair for almost the entirety of the three days since she woke up. Since she would eventually be going back home to District 3, they had assigned her a separate tutor, though she would be able to return to District 12 during the transition period with the rest of the girls in her age bracket from her Games.

In the afternoon, after everyone had finished classes, the girls sat around in the common room and watched Glimmer carefully braid Gidget's hair. She carefully wove brown strands over and under each other, creating an intricate work of art that cascaded down Gidget's back.

"That look's really pretty, Glimmer," complemented Rue. "Can you do something with my hair?"

"I can try, Rue, but I've never braided curls like that before." Gidget switched places with Rue, and Glimmer began the challenge of handling Rue's curls. "What if we straightened it first?" she asked, and Rue earnestly nodded her head.

Rue was much less frustrated about being stuck on the floor than the rest of the girls. She was always someone who adapted easily, and so was getting a little stir crazy, but it was getting better. And she was perfectly content with her little world in the

Before Glimmer could get up to grab her straightener from her room, however, the girls were startled by the dinging of the elevator doors.

 _Yes!_ Glimmer thought. _That must be Savannah! We can go home to District Twelve soon and I not be in the same building all day!_

But the young girl who came out of the elevator doors was not Savannah. And Glimmer would know – after all, she was in the group of Careers that had killed her. She certainly looked familiar, though Glimmer couldn't place it.

"You're not Savannah!" exclaimed Rue. The other four girls glared at her, and Rue instinctively covered her mouth.

"But we're still happy to have you!" exclaimed Penny to cover for her younger friend's faux pas. "Come and sit, and tell us about yourself."

Ivory came into the room and took a seat on the couch next to Penny. "Hi, everyone," she said slyly. "My name is Ivory Dreamcoat, and I'm from District 8. I was in the 73rd Games."

Glimmer replied, "We were all in the 74th. That's weird that you weren't even alive for our Games."

"So maybe you do know Savannah!" exclaimed Rue. "She was from Eight!"

"Savannah?" Ivory sounded concerned. "You don't mean Savannah Mouron, do you?"

"Yeah. She was the female tribute from Eight during our Games."

Ivory sat in stunned shock. "Savannah was my best friend back in Eight. Did she wake up yet?"

Penny broke the news gently. "No, not yet. She's the last tribute from the 74th Games left to wake up. How did you know her?"

"Savannah's dad and my dad were both involved in the rebel cause in District 8. I guess I could have figured out that she would be reaped – her dad was like the biggest rebel leader, and young rebel girls were always reaped. I guess I just hoped it wouldn't happen." Ivory took a deep breath. "Do any of you know what her status is? Will she be OK?"

"We don't know anything," admitted Glimmer. "President Paylor tells us nothing. Do you know anything?"

"Now that I think about it, I did hear another girl moving around down there before I came up, but I don't know who it was." Ivory was finally perking up a little bit and becoming comfortable with the other girls. "I realized I have no clue who any of you are, so while I'm sure this won't happen with girls from Games before mine, can we do names?"

"Sure! I'm Penny, and these girls are Glimmer, Finch, Gidget, and Rue. Everyone on this floor will eventually be going to District 12 to live with Katniss Everdeen, who won the 74th Games, but you'll learn about the impact of those Games later. We're just waiting for Savannah to wake up before we can leave."

"I heard a little bit about the rebellion from President Paylor," processed Ivory, "but I don't know too much about them."

Ivory then got up to explore the floor.

"Guys," urged Glimmer quietly while Ivory was up, "our Games don't come up around her. I want her to judge us before she judges our actions. Agreed?" Everyone nodded. "Good."

When Ivory returned to the couch, the girls continued talking for a little while before the elevator doors dinged again.

 _I think this is the first time since I woke up that the doors have dinged twice in one day,_ said Penny. _Maybe this is Savannah and we can go back to Twelve!_

This time, when the doors opened, everyone gasped. Because while it wasn't Savannah, everybody knew exactly who it was.

There was nobody alive for the 73rd Hunger Games who didn't know about the tiny, golden-curled, blue-eyed angel Ella Ryans.

* * *

 **Hey friends! I hope you've been enjoying this story so far. It's going to start moving a bit quicker from here on out so that we can get to the climax.**

 **Super quick author's note here: I'm working on a new SYOT called Make Me a Match right now, and I'd really appreciate it if you could submit tributes to it, or at least check it out and follow it!**

 **That's all. New chapter coming soon. Please review so I know what I can do better here!**

 **-goldie031**


	20. Chapter 17: See You Again

_It's been a long day without you, my friend  
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again._

 _-"See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth_

* * *

When Ivory was reaped for the Games, she knew exactly what she wanted her token to be.

Ivory's family was not particularly wealthy, but they afforded each of their three daughters one luxury – a diary. From a young age, Ivory had spent her time documenting her days and weeks, and every now and then enjoyed reading back through her old writings. By her second reaping day, she had already completed three full diaries. So when she was reaped, she instructed her doting parents to put all of her writings in a fireproof metal safe in the rebel strongholds in District 8, and brought a smaller notebook with her into the Games. She wrote an entry every night, and put it into the pocket of the pants that she wore into the Arena. And even though she died in the bloodbath, that smaller notebook stayed bloodstain-free.

Miraculously, all of her notebooks had survived the rebellion. President Paylor herself had kept a diary, so when she went through the rubble from District 8 and found it, still securely in its safe, she brought it back with her and kept it safe, because she recognized the name inside of the cover from her study of different Hunger Games, and fully intended to return it to its owner. So when Ivory entered her room the first night after she was resurrected, she was happily surprised to find both the smaller notebook from her Games and a new, larger one on her bed.

Ivory picked up the larger notebook and turned it over in her hands, smelling that new-book smell that she loved. She opened to the first page, picked up a freshly sharpened pencil, and began.

 _October 11, HG90_

 _Dear Diary,_ she wrote, and stopped, admiring how pretty the graphite looked on the paper.

 _Wow. The past… well, I suppose the past decade and a half or so has been kind of crazy. I wish I knew more about what happened. But I was unconscious during all of it. I was just resurrected today after being killed seventeen years ago in the 73_ _rd_ _Hunger Games._

 _I don't want to go into detail about what happened in here, because I've already written it down in another notebook. But suffice it to say that the last thing I remember is launching into the Bloodbath – I guess I didn't survive for too long afterwards._

 _I've learned very little about what awaits me after this. I know that the Hunger Games are over, and that all of the previous tributes are being resurrected slowly. I know that I'm eventually going to live with Katniss Everdeen, who not only won the Hunger Games but helped to lead the rebellion that ended them, and that lots of other girls between the ages of 12 and 15 are joining me. I also know that most of District 8 is dead by now because of the aftermath of the rebellion, which likely includes my parents._

 _My future is very questionable. I don't entirely know where it's going to lead, and that is a scary thought. But I also know that I am safer in the Panem than in any Panem I knew before. That, at least is comforting._

 _I don't know how often I'll write now, but I'm certainly thankful for the opportunity to live again. I think this will be a good place for me to process the craziness that's happening. And though I don't know when I'll get back to District Twelve or back home, I know that everything will be OK. And that's a comforting feeling to have._

 _I can't wait to build a relationship with you – I know you're only a book, but you're now my diary, and that makes you special._

 _Yours Truly,  
Ivory Dreamcoat_

* * *

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

Dalia and Ken were asleep and Tessa was working on some homework on the kitchen table, allowing Katniss and Peeta to work on finding names for their triplets in the dining room. Tessa had lent them her laptop to use for research, as she needed to focus on her geometry.

Peeta took the computer first. "So I like the idea of the pattern we established with our other kids: a flower first name for the girls and a fire related first name for our son, and then middle names after people who we lost over the years," he began. "I know Penigma didn't totally fit with that but whatever." The two were silent for a moment, thinking about the second daughter they had who they never got to meet.

"That sounds good, and it'll certainly help us to narrow down our ideas. So who do we want to name after?"

The two debated for a little while, throwing out names like Cinna, Katniss's father, and Mags. They continued for a little while longer before hearing the phone ring. Tessa glanced at the caller id on the phone that they kept on the counter. "It's President Paylor!" she exclaimed. Katniss ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Madam President. How are you doing?"

"I'm good," replied President Paylor. Katniss recognized from her tone that Paylor was about to ask her for a favor. "How are you feeling?"

"Carrying three kids is more stressful than carrying one, but I'm doing OK."

"Very good. I have some news for you, Katniss. Tomorrow, the first larger transport of girls from the Capitol will be joining you in District Twelve. They will bring with them the dossiers of the girls who will be joining you from the 73rd Games."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes." Katniss tried to interject, but Paylor kept talking. "As you may remember, one of them, Gidget Ramon of District Three, will only be remaining with you for a week before returning to her family in District Three. Finch Shadow, who is originally from District Five, will be returning to her family, who moved to District Twelve. And Savannah Mouron has not woken back up yet, so she will obviously not be joining you. By the end of next week, you will be left with Tessa, who is already there with you, Glimmer Lawrence from District 1, Penny Robins from District 10, and Rue McClellan from District Eleven. Understood?"

"Yes," replied Katniss. "Would you by any chance be able to give me some more notice the next time that a group of tributes comes to my house? Things are complex with the logistics of the kids and my appointments and all of that."

"I'll try, but things happen very quickly here. Thank you, Katniss. Good night!"

And with that, Paylor hung up.

"What was that?" Peeta asked his wife.

"We're getting another five girls coming tomorrow, and then two are leaving by the end of next week."

"Oh. Why is that a problem?"

"I told Hazel Woodson I'd help her out with carpools tomorrow, but I don't want to leave any new tributes at our house alone, even with Tessa there."

Tessa poked her head out of the kitchen. "Maybe I can help with the carpools so you can stay home, Katniss."

"Now that's an idea."

* * *

 _Date: October 12_

* * *

The next morning in the Capitol, the girls on the fourth floor of the training center were eating breakfast as normal when they were visited by President Paylor.

"Good morning, ladies. Ella, Ivory, how are you two adjusting to the living space?" she opened, in her usual proper and business-like fashion.

"I'm fine," said Ivory. "Very thankful as well." Ella nodded in agreement.

"Excellent. I have some news for five of you. Glimmer, Penny, Finch, Rue and Gidget, you will all be traveling to District Twelve today." The five girls exhibited varying degrees of excitement, from Rue's quiet relief to Penny's all around elation. Finally, they would be able to be in the real world. "I have some very important instructions for the five of you to follow," continued President Paylor.

"In your rooms, you will find an outfit, three suitcases, and your school backpack. Please make sure that anything you would like to bring with you that isn't already packed in those containers gets put there. You should all find in your backpack a diary, your laptop and all of your schoolbooks, and your tribute ID card, which has your tribute ID number on it. That ID consists of your Games number, followed by, for all of you, the letter "F" to represent female, and then the number of the district that you represented in those Games. Once you are satisfied, please put on the outfit and bring your backpack with you. Your suitcases and your shirt should match your backpacks, and therefore your district's new color: silver for Glimmer, pink for Penny, orange for Finch, brown for Rue, and yellow for Gidget. Please also make sure that each suitcases has a mint green luggage tag with your district number printed on it in your district's color. Does anybody have any questions?"

Nobody did.

"Excellent. Penny, please give this envelope to Katniss when you arrive. You may not open it before then. Now, you may all say your goodbyes and I will see you on the roof in half an hour."

Each of the five girls ran to her room, and quickly changed clothes before checking to make sure that everything that mattered to each was ready to go back to Twelve. Ivory looked down at little Ella. "I guess it's just you and me, kid," she said with a smile. Ella replied with a hug.

Half an hour later, Gidget, Finch, Penny, Rue, and Glimmer were standing on the roof. As the hovercraft came down, each girl couldn't help but remember the last time that a hovercraft picked them up from the very same roof. Though they all knew that this time would be different, and that they would be safe, one remnant of that fateful day 16 years before remained – none of them knew exactly what awaited at their destination.

Yet, for some reason, they were all OK with that.

* * *

That same morning in District Twelve, Katniss, Hazel, Peeta, and Tessa sat around a table after the kids left for school from the meeting point, preparing for what was shaping up to be a ridiculous day for all five of them. Though only Tessa was doing carpool, it was important for Katniss and Peeta to know where the kids would be at an any given time, because Hazel's husband would still on call at one of the hospitals, as he generally was.

"OK, so here's what makes today complex," explained Hazel. "Tess and Talia have dance today from 4:15 to 6:15, and then Talia goes to art lessons at 6:45 while Tess has to come home to prepare for her acting lesson tomorrow. Timothy has his chess practice from 4:30 to 5:30, and then goes to karate from 6:30 to 7:30. Travis has soccer practice from 4:45 to 5:45 followed immediately by football from 6 to 7, and Tilly has math league tonight right after school until 5 followed by swimming from 5:30 to 6."

The other three looked dumbfounded as Hazel carefully outlined which adult needed to monitor which kid and when. "I'm going to grab Tess, Travis, and Talia from the meeting place and take the girls right to dance and then Travis to soccer. Tessa, you're going to pick up Timothy and bring him to chess. Then, I'm going to need you to take Tilly to swimming at 5:30 – she'll come back to the meeting place from school. Once she's done, I'll take Tilly with me to pick up the other girls, bring Tess and Tilly home to work on acting by which point my husband should be home so I can take Talia to art. After you drop off Tilly, I need you to take Timothy from chess to karate – it'll be fine if you're a few minutes late. Peeta, I need you to pick up Travis from soccer tonight and take him home, and then go right from there to pick up Timothy so I can make sure Talia gets home. Anyone have any questions?"

Everyone was kind of dumbfounded. "How do you handle this on a daily basis?"

"Wednesdays are the worst day because every kid's activity happens on Wednesday. Other than that we never have more than three kids doing an activity on any given day, and if things have to happen, it works out."

So the plan was in place. Katniss and Tessa hoped that the tributes would come from the Capitol by 3PM, so Tessa could say hi before all of the craziness that would happen that afternoon. Tessa finished her tutoring for the day, video chatting with her friends on the hovercraft during the morning slots before finishing in the afternoon as usual. She still didn't quite understand her geometry, but that was OK.

Tessa heard the hovercraft touch down just after three in the afternoon. "It's here, Katniss!" she called, before running outside to greet the other girls. Tessa was quite excited to have friends her age in her district; though she loved Katniss's kids, it was much harder for her to feel like she had friends when she was only interacting with five-year-olds.

As a group of Peacekeepers came out of the hovercraft, bringing out the girls' suitcases, Katniss prepared to meet her new housemates.

First to come out of the hovercraft was Penny. The tall cowgirl eagerly shook Katniss's hand. "It's mighty fine to meet you," she said, "Though I feel like we've already met."

"It's nice to meet you too, Penny," smiled Katniss.

"I was instructed to give you this." Penny extended the purple envelope from President Paylor towards Katniss, who took it. "It seems important." Katniss nodded, as Penny moved on to talk to Tessa.

Finch came out next. Katniss immediately realized why that little girl in Dalia's class looked so familiar – she was the spitting image of this tribute. She felt like bashing herself on the head that she didn't realize it sooner. Finch gave a shy wave. "Hello, Finch," said Katniss. "You know that your family lives here now, right?" Finch nodded. "While you'll be living with us for a week, we invited them over to see you tonight and you'll go to live with them next week." Finch then turned to join Penny, around whom she felt much more comfortable, who was talking to Tessa.

Next came Gidget. She turned to Katniss and said simply, "Thank you so much for having me this week!"

"You're very welcome, Gidget," replied Katniss.

Then came Glimmer. Katniss eyed the former Career for a second, and Glimmer eyed the Victor of her Games. The two came to a silent understanding in that moment – neither completely felt comfortable around the other, but they both hoped to get there. Glimmer moved away silently.

Finally, the small, dark-skinned wisp of a tribute leaped off of the hovercraft and buried her head in Katniss's arms. "I missed you," whispered Rue. "I'm so happy to see you again!"

"I missed you too, little one."

* * *

 **I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! We're about to hit a stage where there will be a lot of very fast updates, because I'm going to be using some chapters from the last time I wrote this story, just with a few edits.**

 **If you liked this story, please drop me a review! If you didn't, tell me what I can do better! And check my profile for my SYOT and submit, please!**

 **If you're an American, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're all having a great day!**

 **-goldie031**


	21. Tribute Profiles - 73rd Hunger Games

Like she had on that night about a month earlier, Katniss turned on the lamp next to her bed and opened the envelope from Penny. She took out the sheaf of papers, on top of which was a note from President Paylor. Katniss set herself up for what was proving to be yet another long read.

* * *

 **Tribute Dossiers – 73** **rd** **Hunger Games**

 **Katniss,**

 **I realized I forgot to tell you one thing when we talked last night. When the hovercraft comes to pick up Gidget next week, please make sure to leave out all of the other suitcases to bring them back to the Capitol. Gidget should have her three yellow ones to bring home, and then there are Rue's three brown ones, Penny's three pink ones, Finch's three orange ones, and Glimmer's three silver ones.**

 **Enjoy the read!**

 **Thanks and Good Luck,  
President Paylor**

* * *

Tribute Profile: Enigma Montgomery, 73F3

Age at Time of Death: 14

Birthday: April 28, HG59

Enigma has spent her time trying to solve complex mathematical problems. While many of her friends enjoy the trial and error work of dealing with the tangible hardware and software in Three's technology factories, Enigma prefers more abstract math. This makes her very good at probability and problem solving, but she is very bad at focusing on anything for too long that isn't a math problem because she keeps wanting to solve more math problems. She was considered a prodigy in her District before she was reaped.

Enigma's family was always concerned about her, and is thrilled for the opportunity to have her back. She will remain in District Twelve for a week before returning home to Three.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Ivory Dreamcoat, 73F3

Age at Time of Death: 13

Birthday: May 28, HG60

 _If you would like to recall information about the reapings in District 8, please refer to Savannah Mouron's dossier._

Ivory was the daughter of one of the many rebels in the district. Her father was quite high up, as was Savannah Mouron's father, and so the two spent a lot of time together as young kids. They became very close friends, though they knew that the likelihood of their position was that one or the other of them would be reaped, if not both. So their friendship was somewhat cautious, because neither of them wanted to become too attached.

Ivory had an older sister named Ebony, and the two were very close. Ebony was 19 when Ivory was reaped, putting her out of reaping age, and though she fought in the rebellion, Ebony survived and helped to save Ivory's diaries. Ivory's parents died in the firebombing of District 8. Ebony now lives in District Eight with her family, and she will be taking in Ivory after the week spent in District 12.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Ella Ryans, 73F10

Age at Time of Death: 12

Birthday: August 12, HG61

If Katniss Everdeen was the spark of the rebellion, Ella Ryans was certainly the kindling.

Ella turned 12 on the day of the reaping, making her the youngest possible tribute for the Games. She also looked small – Rue, who looked 10, certainly looked older than Ella. She was well known for her golden-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and adorable cheeks. Her chariot outfit that made her look like a cute version of Little Bo Peep and her adorable interview outfit won over the hearts of the Capitol. But the reality of the situation was that there was no way for her to win.

Unbeknownst to Ella, a plan was in place to make sure that she died the most painless death possible. This was spearheaded by Nereid Caro, the designated volunteer from District 4 who had been forbidden from volunteering the year before and watched her sister Callania, who was only 12 at the time, die in the Bloodbath. Nereid set up an alliance of the girls from Districts 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 to ensure that one of them would help get Ella out of the Bloodbath and feed her nightlock or any other poisonous berry to help make sure that she died quickly and painlessly. They made a point of making sure that Ella was comfortable around as many of them as possible, to help ease the death. This alliance led the mentors from those districts to work together, and when many of them ended up in the 75th Hunger Games, they teamed up again to blow up the Arena and begin the rebellion.

District Ten was a fairly complacent district for the Capitol, which caused a problem when it became apparent that Ella essentially and unwittingly started the rebellion, the citizens got very upset at her parents. Ella's family has made their living in Ten, and for them, moving away would be very difficult. They feel that it is best for them and for her to have her live at Katniss's, though they will be essentially providing child support and would like Ella to return home for Thanksgiving and the Winter Holiday.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Ariella Draek, 73F12

Age at Time of Death: 14

Birthday: May 29, HG59

Ariella was from one of the richer families in the Seam in 12. Her father was a coal miner, and she often spent her days doing whatever she could to earn money. For her, this meant becoming one of the few midwives in the District. At the tender age of 12, Ariella was widely recognized as the finest midwife in the Seam, helping to ensure comfort to anybody who was unable to afford to go to the hospital. This was with the help of some of the lesser Healers, but she was really the best at it of everyone. She was even called in to help with some of the babies of the merchant class, which helped her to earn the money needed to keep her family afloat.

Her father had died in the large mine explosion of January 24, HG69, leaving Ariella and her mother to support the family. Though her family wasn't the biggest fans of the Capitol, nobody believed that things would get to the point of bombing, leaving her without a family.

* * *

Tribute Profile: Roniz Ember, 73M12

Age at Time of Death: 16

Birthday: December 4, HG56

Roniz came from a long line of people who did something unusual: breed canaries. In coal mines, canaries serve as important markers for low levels of oxygen, because when the canary dies, the miners know to leave the mine. The canaries never sold for much money, but it was enough to get by, sort of. At least to have a little bit of food. More importantly, it kept Roniz's whole family out of the mines. Which was very good for his mother's sanity, especially after the January 24 mine explosions that killed many miners in the district.

The only surviving member of Roniz's family is his older sister, Alcy. His father didn't let his two younger siblings leave the district, because he needed their help to watch over the canaries. Alcy was already out of the house by the time that Gale started leaving, and she left, seeing the writing on the wall. Alcy is very excited to take Roniz in after the mandated adjustment week. _We understand the problems that may be caused by having Roniz in the house with all of the other females, so if you take issue with this, please let us know, and we can either find another place for him or have him move right in with Alcy._

* * *

Katniss figured she'd wait until Peeta woke up to deal with that. She turned off the lamp and went to sleep, though the time it was taking her to fall asleep was increasing day by day.

She was quickly learning that being pregnant with triplets was quite uncomfortable.

* * *

 **Standard stuff. Please review and check out Make Me a Match!**

 **-goldie031**


	22. Chapter 18: Halloween

_Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!  
In this town we call home._

 _-"This is Halloween" by Marilyn Manson_

* * *

 _October 31, HG90_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I have to say, it's kind of boring being cooped up here in the Training Center. While there are other people here with me, I think it's difficult for me to be inside. Even in the smog-filled district from which I come, I had pretty much complete freedom to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Not so much anymore. But it's nice to be able to write, especially because I can remember everything from this cool time period in my life._

 _I guess I'll give you the lowdown on this place. The former tributes are kept on the first five floors, and all of our hangout spaces are in the basement. I hang out with some of them, but we're kept away from the former Careers who live on the first floor. Right now, that's only Marvel, Cato, and Clove from 74, but I'm sure that number will increase. So I'm on the fourth floor with all of the girls, ages 12-15. We're all going back to Katniss's house, and then we'll return to our families if we have family left. I'm lucky that Ebony survived the rebellion – I do miss her a lot. I was really happy when President Paylor told me last week that she was still alive. It was one of the best moments ever._

 _All of the tributes currently in the Training Center are from the 73_ _rd_ _or 74_ _th_ _Games. Other than the three Careers from 74, the only ones left are the boys from 5 (Randall), 8 (Cotton), 9 (Scythe), 10 (Ryan), and 11 (Thresh), because everyone else has gone back out into the Districts. So no Savannah yet. I was really hoping that she would wake up – I miss her very much and am very worried about her. But I'm getting by._

 _It's weird, though – by now, there are quite a few awake tributes from my Games, even though there's no sign of Savvy. All of the girls who are awake are the ones from the major alliance that saved Ella. Well, saved her from decapitation, at least. Ariella from 12 and Enigma from 3 are staying on my floor, Nereid from 4, Corey from 6, and Cherry from 11 are on the third floor with the girls older than 15, and Maple from 7 is on the second floor with the older boys because she's going with them to her home district. It's been neat to reconnect with them. In terms of boys from my Games, we've only got Geare from 6 and Poseidon from 4._

 _One really neat thing about Ariella is that she's super in to music. We just started tutoring this week, and she immediately added a music theory class onto her mandated four courses. From what I hear, she's doing well, too!_

 _Today is Halloween, and Ella has been making a huge racket about trick or treating. We decided to appease the little one and set up trick or treat stations around the training center. I have to say, no matter how annoying that tiny girl can get, she looks so cute in her costume. Ella picked out this adorable yellow lab costume, because she wanted to look like her dog from home. I think it's adorable._

 _That was a long entry, but that makes sense considering that it's been 20 days since the last one. Writing definitely helps keep me away from the craziness of the Training Center – I forgot how much I liked doing this!_

 _Yours,  
Ivory_

* * *

Halloween had never been this chaotic in the Everdeen household.

Up until now, there had only been one kid to deal with, and things were pretty easy – Dalia ONLY wanted to dress up in a foofy pink dress modeled after the only outfit worn by the main PKTV (Panem Kids' TV) princess, Stella Artella. But this year, Kenneth was old enough to dress up, Hannah and Max, Ember's kids, wanted to trick-or-treat with their cousins, and Dalia wanted to be with her friends from school during trick-or-treating. But they managed.

After school on Halloween, all of the kids ran home to change into their costumes. The plan was to meet at Katniss's after getting in costume, and then everyone would go with Katniss to the town square to trick-or-treat. Katniss was in charge of all the trick-or-treat bags, while Peeta was baking. As per District 12 tradition, the Victors and their families always provided candy to the town square celebration, and Katniss and Peeta were known for always providing delectable homemade treats.

It was a well-known fact that Katniss made one kind of candy very well: chocolate haystacks. That was it. Her trick was to mix the pretzel rods with marshmallow fluff first, and then coat the whole contraption in chocolate. On Halloween, Peeta would let her make the haystacks, and then put little pumpkin decorations on them. Peeta also made cupcakes, chocolate bark, and homemade candy bars for the little kids.

Tessa, meanwhile, was helping Dalia put on her costume. For Tessa, it was nice to be able to spend her nights with the other girls her age, working together on homework and hanging out like old friends. Gidget had already returned to Distrct Three, and Tessa heard that she'd had a joyous homecoming like no other. Finch was back with her family, but Tessa saw a lot of her thanks to the friendship between Dalia and the little girl named Finch in Dalia's class, who happened to be the niece of the older Finch.

Oddly for everyone, especially Katniss, the person who had struggled the most when the five new older girls joined them at home was Dalia. The little girl did just fine around a lot of other kids her age, but when older kids were involved, she felt much more overwhelmed, maybe just by their height. She'd begun to adjust, however, especially after Gidget and Finch left, but though Dalia enjoyed being around Penny, Glimmer, and Rue, she still trusted Tessa the most of any of them. Hence why Tessa was the only one allowed in her room, and the only one allowed to help her with her costume.

"I love your dress, Dalia," said Tessa. "It's so frilly and pink!"

"I wore the same one last year too," she replied candidly.

"OK. Put your arms up up up SO HIGH!" Tessa carefully lowered the dress over Dalia's head, her arms fitting exactly in the openings for the sleeves. "There you go, little one! So who are you going with tonight?"

Dalia began to count on her fingers. "Max, Bella, Finch, Esther, Timothy, Travis, Tilly, Tess, and Talia."

"You have a lot of friends in Kindergarten," Tessa remarked as she slid Dalia's pink ballet flats onto her feet.

"Yeah. I'm happy that I do!"

Suddenly, Tessa heard the doorbell ring. "Tessa, can you get it? My hands are full of fluff!" yelled Katniss.

Tessa ran downstairs and opened it to Hazel Woodson her five kids, Marigold, and Esther.

"Hello, Tessa dear," Marigold said, her voice overly sweet. "Here's my Esther. Send Katniss my regards, will you?" Esther was dressed as a pirate. Her hair was braided in two braids, and there was a cute little eyepatch over her right eye.

"Of course," replied Tessa.

"See you soon, dear!" Marigold left to return to her house. Tessa ushered the Woodsons and Esther in, noticing a slight limp in Esther's gait.

Tessa closed the door and took a deep breath. "Esther, how are you feeling?"

"My eye kind of hurts," replied Esther. Tessa was shocked to hear her say five words in a row, but she had also noticed in increase in Esther's comfort level in Katniss's house.

"Do you want me to take a look at it?"

Esther hesitated for a second. She was clearly processing what would be the best course of action to take. "Yes," she replied tentatively.

Tessa brought Esther to the upstairs bathroom, closed the door and took off her eyepatch.

She gasped. Tessa did not want to believe what she saw.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story is going to pick up from here! Please take the time to review, and check out my other stories!**

 **-Aviva**


	23. Chapter 19: It Can't Be True

_Holy macaroni, no, it can't be true!  
No, you can't repeat a single word I'm telling you._

 _-"It Can't Be True" from 13 The Musical_

* * *

 _Date: October 31_

 _Location: District 12_

* * *

"Tessa, you have no grounds to take Esther away from Marigold," argued Finch. After dropping her niece off, she had come upstairs, only to find a frantic Tessa pacing around her room.

"But did you SEE Esther's eye?"

"No…"

"The whole area around it was black and blue, and one of the blood vessels in her eye popped."

"Yes, but that still doesn't give you grounds for removing Esther from parental custody," argued Glimmer. "For us to get Esther away from Marigold, we need to have clear-cut evidence of either abuse or neglect. We have nothing more than puzzle pieces of evidence of abuse right now."

"But we still need to do something about it," begged Tessa. "Remember, I was never treated well by my parents. I don't want the same thing to happen to Esther. Thankfully, it never reached abuse with me, but I don't want things to get worse for her."

"I see where you're coming from," said Glimmer, "but we could have lots of problems if we jump the gun and try to get Esther too early. If someone comes up to Marigold without proof, she'll vehemently deny it, and then find out that someone's on to her and run away. If Marigold doesn't run, and then we get evidence, the police might ignore us the next time because of the false alarm the first time. We need to do things carefully to make sure that we don't lose our opportunity."

"So what can we do?" asked Tessa.

"I don't know," said Glimmer. "I don't know."

* * *

Glimmer woke up the next morning and realized the importance of the day.

Four weeks had passed, and she still had not gotten her period.

"Penny," she said, noticing that her friend was awake. "It's been four weeks. Today, on the nose."

"Four weeks since what?" asked Penny groggily.

"Since the last time we talked. About my period. You know?"

"Oh. That thing. Right." Penny propped herself up. "Weren't you talking to Finch about that?"

"Well, you were in the room. Maybe you could give good advice."

Penny scoffed. "Giving advice is not my forte," she admitted. "Why don't you explain the situation to Tessa?"

"She's still asleep," exclaimed Glimmer!

Tessa groaned, "Well, now I'm not. Tell me, what's the problem?" She sat up in bed, interested in the sudden vulnerability from Glimmer.

"Well, four weeks ago, I should have gotten my period. And it was weird for me, because I haven't missed a period since I got my first one. So Finch said that, if it didn't come in four weeks, she'd take me to an OB/GYN."

Tessa took a deep breath. "But Glimmer, wouldn't it be natural for your period to be a bit off? After all, your body just went through a lot of trauma. My period also still hasn't come back yet. I wouldn't be freaking out about it yet."

"But… but…"

Katniss knocked on the door. "Good morning, ladies. Is everything OK?"

Tessa looked at Glimmer, who nodded her head. "Glimmer's just freaking out because she hasn't gotten her period since she woke up."

"But wouldn't that be natural if you went through trauma?"

"I DON'T CARE!" yelled Glimmer, who still wasn't quite sure why she'd made the decision to tell Katniss about this in the first place. "It feels awkward and unnatural to me, and I don't like it."

Katniss took a deep breath and attempted to weigh the situation. This was a problem she definitely didn't anticipate when she took in the girls from the Games. "I think," she said, slowly and carefully, "that if it would make you more comfortable to see an OB/GYN, you should go see one. I would advise you not go to see mine, though, as my OB/GYN is my mother and that would be awkward. So feel free to research some other ones and make an appointment, and I'll bring you there."

"Thank you, Katniss," said Glimmer.

"Of course. Now, get ready for tutoring, ladies!"

As Katniss left the room, she thanked heavens that Dalia still had eight years before she became a teenager. She had a feeling that it would be much more difficult for her to handle these types of problems with her own daughter. And having five teenagers in the house at the same time after the triplets were born would be even less fun.

* * *

After tutoring, Tessa and Glimmer sat at Glimmer's laptop.

"So how do we find an OB/GYN using this thing?" asked Glimmer. Though she'd grown up in District One, and had many forms of technology at her disposal, it was not her forte in any sense of the word.

Tessa clicked a few buttons. "So this," she explained, "is how you get to the search engine. Now, you plug in OB/GYNs near me, and boom!" Tessa clicked the first response. "Hmm. That's interesting."

"What?"

"Look at the first entry on the list. It's for a Marigold Snow."

"What does it say about her? She could be good."

"So she lives here in District Twelve, but it said she moved from the Capitol to Twelve, then to Two from here a few years ago before coming back here."

"Let's read her reviews."

* * *

 _Reviews for Marigold Snow, OB/GYN_

 _-Marigold was very punctual and proper, and always lent a helping hand. However, she seemed to be less than successful at establishing a successful birth procedure. I was carrying three babies, but only two survived delivery._

 _-I was very impressed with Marigold's professionalism in the office, but was heartbroken when she told me that one of my quadruplets had died in delivery. I wonder if another OB/GYN could have prevented it._

 _-Marigold interested me when she told me that I was just her third client, and that she had two adopt_ _ed children, from mothers who had complications in childbirth. It was also interesting to me that she had a specialty in multiples, which was good for me, as I had twins. Unfortunately, one of my twins died in the womb as well under her care._

 _-I am an OB/GYN, but couldn't well do my own examinations, especially as I was having twins. So, I decided to approach Marigold and ask her to help me out, as we were colleagues. I know enough about how the kids were doing that, despite Marigold's insistence that one of my daughters came out stillborn, I didn't believe her._

* * *

"Hmm. You're right, Tessa. Those reviews are interesting."

Tessa was determined to figure out what was up with all of these odd reviews of Marigold. "I have to do more research," she said, before furiously taking Glimmer's laptop and beginning to search things up."

"Just don't spread anything until you know things for sure."


End file.
